Morocco-Benin/Cultural cooperation. Morocco will host a major exhibition of Benin's heritage

The President of the Republic received, this Sunday in audience, the President of the National Foundation of Museums (FNM) of Morocco, Mehdi Qotbi, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Cotonou, SEM. Rachid Rguibi.

The Head of State Patrice Talon expressed to his hosts his wish that the Kingdom of Morocco be the first country to host the contemporary part of the exhibition "Art of Benin, yesterday and today: From Restitution to Revelation".

President Patrice Talon granted an audience to a Moroccan delegation led by Ambassador Rachid Rguibi on Sunday, February 20. During the meeting, which took place in the presence of the Beninese Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Aurélien Agbénonci and Tourism, Culture and Arts, Babalola Jean-Michel Hervé Abimbola, President Patrice Talon paid a vibrant tribute to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for having given culture the place it occupies today in his country. He stressed that the Kingdom is an example to follow in the development of art and cultural heritage.

Patrice Talon confessed to have kept an excellent memory of his visit to the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, "which has been for him a source of inspiration for the development of the museum sector in Benin.

From the fruitful exchanges with his hosts, it was agreed to develop a memorandum of understanding, which will be signed between the FNM and the competent Beninese authority.

As a prelude to the audience, the Moroccan ambassador and the president of the FNM were invited to the opening of the exhibition "Art of Benin, yesterday and today: from Restitution to Revelation" at the Marina Palace. The guests of the Head of State have contemplated the 26 royal treasures returned by France in November 2021 (after 129 years) and which are exposed for the first time after their return to the country.

The guests of the President of the Republic were also invited to discover a hundred masterpieces of contemporary Beninese artists.
The audience of this Sunday at the Presidency of the Republic comes to demonstrate once again the excellence of the cooperation links between Benin and the Kingdom of Morocco.

Source: www.24haubenin.bj/