"We discussed the upcoming opening of a consulate of the Republic of The Gambia in Dakhla," said the west African country's Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara during a press briefing at the end of a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita.
The opening of this consulate "will take place as soon as possible," said Tangara, adding that "we will work together to give concrete substance to the visions of our two heads of state."
The minister insisted on reiterating The Gambia's position, which "has never been ambiguous on the question of the Moroccanness of the Sahara and the territorial integrity of Morocco".
He also lauded Morocco's support to The Gambia "in difficult times", as well as the assistance provided by the Kingdom to The Gambia in terms of training.
Tangara, whose country will host the next conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressed the wish of Banjul "to benefit from the expertise of Morocco in terms of organization", saying that he is confident that "with the support of Morocco, we will be successful".
For his part, Bourita said that the talks with his Gambian counterpart were an opportunity to "recall the commitment of HM the King to develop a strong south-south cooperation with the sister republic of The Gambia".
He said the royal visit in 2006 was an occasion to "lay the bases for this solid partnership which is growing stronger today".
The two officials discussed the upcoming meeting of the joint committee next year in Banjul, he went on to say.
He also assured his counterpart of Morocco's "full support" for Gambia's organization of the next OIC conference.