Rabat – The autonomous government of Andalucia, southern Spain, honored Moroccan Andre Azoulay, advisor to King Mohammed VI, with the Gold Medal of Andalucia 2020.
The prestigious award comes in recognition of Azoulay’s “exemplary commitment to solidarity and harmony and for his pioneering approach at the head of the Foundation of Three Cultures, which for more than 20 years associates Morocco, Spain and Andalusia to tell the world the art of living together,” President of the Andalucian government Juan Manuel Moreno said at the awards ceremony on Friday.
Moreno heaped praise on the Moroccan recipient, saying, with the award, Andalucia wants to “praise and distinguish the career of Andre Azoulay, who has worked for years for understanding and mutual respect between Morocco, Andalusia and Spain”.
Azoulay, brimming with pride, dedicated the distinction to his Morocco. “History has proved Morocco right and it is to my King and my country that I dedicate today, from Seville, the medal awarded to me,” he said.
The King’s advisor also emphasized “the historic and visionary decision of Morocco which, in the mid-1990s, proposed to Spain and Andalusia to come together to create the Foundation of the Three Cultures and to make it the institution of reference, the space of resilience and resistance in the face of the dangers of the cultural and social fracture that was already looming all around us”.
He went on to spotlight the shared history of Morocco and Andalucia, commenting on Morocco’s commitment to keep diversity and cultural plurality at its heart. The Foundation of the Three Cultures, he said, reflects the principles of modern Morocco and its relationship with Spain, and Europe more widely.
The decision of the Andalusian government to bestow the honor on Azoulay in 2020 adds to distinction f the award as this year marks 40 years since the Andalusian Declaration of Autonomy.
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