Morocco’s Benaissa receives Kemet Boutros-Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge Award

CAIRO - Former Moroccan Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Benaissa received on Sunday in Cairo, the Kemet Boutros-Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge’s "Achievement Prize in the Fields of Conflict Resolution, Democracy, and Human Rights."

The Foundation's Board of Trustees awarded Benaissa for his “distinguished role and contribution” in diplomacy and the culture of peace.

Benaissa said during a speech during the ceremony that he was “deeply touched by this generous gesture that has a double meaning and dimension, given the status and symbolism of the award-giving institution, and given the exceptional value of the outstanding personality whose name this award bears.”

Benaissa hailed late Boutros Boutros-Ghali who gave great importance to the African continent during his tenure at the Egyptian foreign ministry. And hailed him as a statesman who granted his country all that was required by the duty of sincerity and loyalty.

"Perhaps he was at the forefront of those who gave the Egyptian diplomacy a renewed breath of interest and care for the African issue, with all its multiple ramifications and renewed strategic backgrounds," said Benaissa.

"Today I consider it my duty to say, and stress my saying, that the great Boutros-Ghali has always remained a pure Egyptian and an honest Arab, believing in his strong loyalty to his Egyptianness and his belonging to his Arab identity," he concluded.