Delegation Of Indonesian Journalists Visiting Morocco, Watch Significant Development

JAKARTA The visit of Indonesian journalists to the Kingdom of Morocco is expected to increase the understanding of the Indonesian press regarding various aspects of development that are currently taking place in Morocco and in the African continent in general.

This hope was conveyed by the President of the Indonesian-Maroko Friendship Association (PPIM) Teguh Santosa after the delegation consisting of seven journalists arrived in Indonesia, Tuesday night, July 22.

"I hope the visit has just provided a broader picture of the various efforts made by the Kingdom of Morocco to not only build Morocco, but also to inspire and motor development in the African continent. Morocco also provides a small contribution to the need for environmentally friendly energy for Europe," said Teguh Santosa who is also the General Chair of the Indonesian Cyber Media Network (JMSI).

Apart from Teguh, his entourage included senior journalist and former Pimred Kompas Budiman Tanuredjo who now manages the "One Table" program at KompasTV and Jakarta Editor-in-Chief Post Taufiq Rahman. Also Senior Editor of the Merdeka People Muhammad Rusmadi, Editor-in-Chief of Kumparan Arifin Asydhad who is also Chair of the Pimred Forum, Editor-in-Chief of the Eko Pamuji Community Ambassador who is also Secretary General of JMSI, andlinyamalla Anjaiah, a former Jakarta Post journalist who is now a researcher at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSAS).

The visit, which took place between July 12 and 21, began with Kasablanka, which is a business and industrial city of Morocco. During a visit to Kasablanka, a delegation of Indonesian journalists in addition to seeing Kasablanka's increasingly rapid development, also listened to an explanation from Casablanca Finance City (CFC), an organization founded on the initiative of King Mohammed VI to encourage Morocco to become a key player in the development of Africa and the region.

The organization is trying to realize King Mohammed VI's vision to change the image of Africa, which was previously seen as a hopeless continent (the hopeless contingent) to a hopeful continent.

It was King Mohammed VI's vision that prompted CFC to grow into a business and financial liaison not only for Africa, but also for the Middle East and Europe, and gain the trust of top companies in the world and international financial institutions.

Delegation of Indonesian journalists also visited the University of Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) at Ben Guerir to see how the world of education was developed to optimize human resources and natural resources. The university was built by the Moroccan phospat company, d'Office cririfien des phosphates or OCP.

The university provides scholarships to many students from various countries in Africa as a manifestation of the involvement of the Afika community that is wider in the development process of the African continent. UM6P grew into an experimental platform that opened itself up on various opportunities in Africa to create an African century.

Another place visited by the journalists' delegation, continued Teguh, was the Region Dakhla Oued Ed Dahab which is located in the Morocco Sahara region in the south.

Visiting Dakhla provides an opportunity for us to see how the construction of an area from zero point is carried out so quickly and directionally. Now Morocco plans to build a giant port of Dakhla Atlantic Airport which will make Dakhla a liaison with the western African region in the south and America across the Atlantic Ocean, "explained Teguh.

Teguh, who had been to Dakhla in 2010, or 14 years ago, said that development in Dakhla was very impressive. The Moroccan government succeeded in changing Dakhla's image of abandoned underdeveloped areas in the Spanish colonialization era to a city that is now of strategic value in the region. International confidence in the development of Dakhla continued Teguh can be seen from the many Moroccan friendly countries that opened consulates in the city.

There are 17 countries opening consulates in Region Dakhla Oued Ed Dahab, and 12 countries opening consulates at Region Laayoune Sakia El Hamra. It also shows international confidence in the special autonomy proposals offered by Morocco in peace talks on the Western Sahara dispute at the United Nations, "said Teguh, who is also one of the drivers of the West Sahara conflict at Commission IV of the United Nations in New York.

Another place visited by Indonesian journalists' delegations is the giant port of the Mediterranean Tanger in northern Morocco which is at exactly the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea or the Middle Sea. Tanger Med is in fact the entrance connecting Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Tanger Med is in 18th position in the World Maritime Connectivity index published by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2023.

The last institution visited by the Indonesian journalist delegation was Al Qarawiyyin University in Fes, the oldest university in the world. This university was founded in 859 AD by Fatima Al Fihria, the daughter of a trader named Muhammad Al Fihria who has moved from Cairouan in Tunisia now.

This university not only teaches religious science, but also creates kalimullah into branches of science such as grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, geography, and music.

From the explanation of the Chancellor of Al Qarawiyyin University, Dr. Amal Jalal, who received a delegation of Indonesian journalists, information was obtained that in the past the understanding of these university students in one of the disciplines of science was placed after ethical and moral aspects.

Not to forget during a visit to Morocco, the delegation of Indonesian journalists also visited Wisma Duta and met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Morocco Hasrul Azwar.

"Dubes Hasrul Azwar really hope that the quality of relations between the two countries, which has been very good since the Ibnu Batutah era and the era of President Sukarno, can be increased to even more significant," said Teguh.