“This agreement aims to contribute to the development of training and promote the sharing of expertise and experience in the museum sector to then benefit our African brothers, “said the president of the FNM, Mehdi Qotbi in a statement to M24, MAP continuous news channel.
“Israeli museums have fine collections and enjoy the confidence of their diasporas across the world, which offer their works and collections of modern and contemporary art,” he stressed.
Qotbi said that ICOM Israel is willing to collaborate and share with the FNM the “fascinating” works and collections of great artists who have marked the world scene such as Picasso and Marc Chagall.
“By the multiple agreements inked with different museums across the world, the Kingdom is currently cited as an example of its particularity in Africa and the Arab world,” he said.
“Since the resumption of Morocco-Israel relations, several areas have been strengthened bilaterally, including industry and culture,” he said, adding that “culture is essential: it is one of the indestructible bridges and a valuable path for the knowledge of the other”.
The president of the FNM was also pleased to concretize this knowledge of the other by the signing of the memorandum of understanding, specifying that several Israelis of Moroccan origin carry Morocco and the Sovereign in their hearts.
He said that Morocco, a country of dialogue and living together has, thanks to the enlightened vision of HM King Mohammed VI, built the Museum of Islamic Arts and the Museum of Jewish Culture.
For her part, the director of ICOM Israel, Samira Raz welcomed her presence in Morocco, describing as “historic moment” the signing of this memorandum whose symbolism is that of a “wonderful bridge in the museum sector and exhibitions”.
The museum sector is huge and can build bridges between Israeli and Moroccan artists including through the exchange of exhibitions, she added in a statement to the press, stating that culture opens the way to a “real dialogue between countries”.
Samira, who is on a working visit to Morocco leading a large delegation, commended the existence of a museum in the Kingdom dedicated to the Jewish memory.
The chief director of the Museum of the Jewish People, Orit Shaham Gover, said that this cultural collaboration between the two countries will allow the Moroccan people to discover the influence of its heritage on the Israeli culture, adding that the memorandum of understanding signed today will allow to “significantly strengthen the ties between our two countries”.
Signed by the FNM President and the Director of ICOM Israel, the memorandum aims to share museum best practices in areas of common interest, including the implementation and use of information and communication technologies in archiving operations, exhibition exchange and art lending.
It is also meant to contribute to the strengthening of relations between the peoples of the two countries, to develop cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual interests, to facilitate mutual participation in conferences and seminars on museology and to ensure free access of curators and researchers working under this memorandum.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse