King Mohammed VI Arrives in Juba for Official Visit to Republic of South Sudan

PERSISMA, Rabat – King Mohammed VI has arrived in Juba, South Sudan, for an official visit on Wednesday.

Upon his arrival to South Sudan, the King was received by the country’s president Salva Kiir Mayardit.

During his visit, the King will be accompanied by members of the government and his advisors. Discussion between the king and his Sudanese counterpart will revolve around ways to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries.

In line with Morocco’s humanitarian initiatives to assist African countries during times of crises or natural disasters, Morocco set up a multi-disciplinary field hospital in South Sudan’s capital Juba, upon directives from King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s foreign ministry said in a statement on January 23, 2017.

This field hospital, which started working as of Monday January 23, “has a capacity of 30 beds that can be extended to 60. The 20 specialist doctors, assisted by 18 nurses, will provide medical services in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, cardiology, traumatology, dentistry, ophthalmology and ENT medicine. The hospital will also have a medical laboratory and a pharmacy,” the statement added.

South Sudan is the second sub-Saharan African country to be visited by King Mohammed VI in 2017 after Ethiopia. The Moroccan Monarch left Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole international airport on Wednesday afternoon accompanied by Prince Moulay Ismail.

The King was greeted by Ethiopian minister of culture and tourism, Hirut Woldemariam, and Morocco’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Nezha Alaoui M’Hamdi.

The King’s visit to Ethiopia was marked by the return of Morocco to the African Union (AU) after 33 years of absence. Thirty-nine countries showed their unconditional support to Morocco’s return to it African family. 

During his visit to Addis Ababa, the Sovereign held talks with several African heads of State and offered a reception in honor of heads of State and Government taking part in the 28th African Union Summit.