The Minister for Culture and the Environment, John Cortes and a team representing Gibraltar Cultural Services were hosted at the Tanger Botanical Gardens ‘Donabo’ by Lala Malika Alaoui from the Moroccan Royal Family, who runs the facility. 

A statement from the Government follows below:

This is part of a cultural exchange with Tangier being organised by GCS on behalf of the Ministry of Culture which will see a number of events and initiatives over the next few weeks. 

The launch of a coin to commemorate the historical relationship between Gibraltar and Morocco organised by the Gibraltar Morocco Business Exchange will take place at the Gardens themselves next week. 

The meeting provided fruitful discussion with Minister Cortes and Lala Malika looking at common areas that could be developed further, not only from a botanical focus but looking at cultural and educational opportunities that could be explored between both communities. Commenting on the visit Minister Cortes said: “It was fascinating to see the work that has been done in developing this beautiful and educational garden, with so many parallels to my own work in creating the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens. Discussions with our hostess highlighted the many possibilities of fomenting cultural, social and educational links between Gibraltar and Tangier further.” 

The creation of the facility has been a labour of love, with the gardens set within a beautiful forest area of Tangier overlooking the sea. A Café building built from local stone using traditional building techniques offers a beautiful oasis, and organic produce and something the team behind it is extremely proud of.