The visit of her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Asmaa at Gallaudet University, the only establishment in the world dedicated to the education of deaf and hard of hearing, further strengthens “excellent relations” between Morocco and the United States, said on Friday in Washington, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Azzedine El Midaoui.
This visit is part of the “strengthening of the excellent relations that have always existed between Morocco and the United States,” said El Midaoui to the press, adding that this visit will also consolidate the distinguished relations between the Lalla Asmaa Foundation and the Gallaudet University, which constitutes a unique and very significant experience at the international level.
Mr. El Midaoui, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, stressed that the signing of an agreement between the Foundation and this prestigious university will be used to “take up and duplicate, by improving it, this experience of Gallaudet”, thus allowing Morocco to shelter a university which ensures the teaching, in the same environment, of deaf and hard of hearing.
For his part, the Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and the Family, Naïma Ben Yahia, said that this visit is part of the “sustained efforts made by her Royal Highness through the Lalla Asmaa Foundation in favor of deaf and hearing impaired children”.
The signing during this visit to an agreement protocol between the Foundation and the Gallaudet University will make young Moroccans deaf and hard of hearing from the pioneering experience of this university establishment benefit, underlined Ms. Ben Yahiya, also a member of the Board of Directors of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation.
For his part, the ambassador of Morocco to the United States, Youssef Amrani, said that the visit of his Royal Highness, Princess Lalla Asmaa constitutes in itself “an eloquent testimony of the depth, extent and maturity of the exceptional partnership which unites Morocco and the United States of America”.
-Beyond political convergences and supported diplomatic relations which punctuate this partnership, the human and social component remains an essential and structuring pillar, argued Mr. Amrani, stressing that in the right line of the vision of SM King Mohammed VI, his royal Highness “enriched with a renewed breath our interaction with the United States, confirming and deepening the proximity of Coeur and Washington ”.
In a similar declaration, the president of Gallaudet University, Roberta Cordano, said he was “proud to be able to share Gallaudet’s experience with Morocco”, which will allow, she said, not only to offer higher education opportunities, “but also to provide support to transform the life of deaf and hard of hearing in Morocco and Africa”.
“Morocco’s commitment and its history are all qualities that allow it to set itself up as a gateway for collaborations that can develop throughout Africa,” said Ms. Cordano.
For his part, Zahra Ketoun, Moroccan student at the doctoral cycle in Gallaudet since 2021, said he was proud of her experience in this establishment, noting that the signing of an agreement with the Lalla Asmaa Foundation constitutes “a giant step” in the transfer of the American experience in this area. She added that this agreement reflects the commitment and strong support of her Royal Highness with regard to deaf and hard of hearing people in Morocco.
Same story with Zakaria El Kantaoui, a former student of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, who highly praised the tireless efforts made by the foundation in favor of young deaf and hard of hearing in Morocco.
“I am the product of the generosity of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation,” said El Kantaoui, who continues his studies in the English language in Gallaudet, saying that he was determined to “return to Morocco after my studies to share my knowledge with the deaf and hard of hearing community”.
