King Mohammed VI offered a royal dinner on Thursday evening at the Mechouar Stinia-Sahrij Souani complex in Meknès in honor of the guests and participants of the 18th edition of the Salon International de l’Agriculture au Maroc. The dinner, chaired by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, brought together an assembly that reflected the salon’s standing as Morocco’s most prestigious annual agricultural and diplomatic gathering.
The evening included a formal ceremony in which the Prime Minister presented excellence trophies to the twelve best production units by region, the twelve best production units by value chain, and sixteen outstanding contributions across the salon’s thematic pavilions. The awards recognize achievements in agricultural productivity, innovation, cooperative organization, and the development of territorial and sectoral value chains — and carry symbolic weight as a Royal acknowledgement of the individuals and organizations advancing Morocco’s Green Generation agricultural vision.
The 18th edition of SIAM, which runs until April 28, has drawn participation from 70 countries and is expected to attract more than 1.1 million visitors over its duration. Portugal serves as the guest of honor, and the salon’s central theme of sustainability in animal production and food sovereignty has generated a notably substantive program of high-level international conferences. Agriculture ministers from Portugal, France, and several African nations addressed the opening sessions, reflecting the breadth of engagement the salon commands.
The Royal dinner is a fixture of the SIAM program and carries significance beyond protocol. It signals the direct personal investment of the Sovereign in Morocco’s agricultural development agenda, which has been driven by successive national strategies — the Green Morocco Plan and now Green Generation 2020-2030 — conceived under Royal impulsion. The ceremony also provided an occasion to honor, in the most formal terms available, the farmers, cooperatives, and industrial operators whose work underpins the sector’s performance.
