Nieuwpoort (Belgium/MAP)- Princess Lalla Meryem represented King Mohammed VI in the ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, which took place on Tuesday afternoon in Nieuport and Ypres in Belgium.
Princess Lalla Meryem was accompanied by Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the administration of national defense, Abdellatif Loudiyi, and Morocco’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Samir Addahre.
In the Belgian coastal city of Nieuport, located in the Flemish region, Princess Lalla Meryem took part in the national commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of the Yser, in the presence of King Philip and Queen Matilda of Belgium.
The ceremony was held at the King Albert I Monument, a memorial built in 1938 to commemorate the role of King Albert I in the First World War, particularly during the Battle of the Yser.
On this occasion, King Philippe of Belgium gave a speech in which he paid tribute to King Albert I for his role during the First World War, as well as the soldiers who fell in the battlefield defending the values of dignity and peace.
After screening a film showing the sacrifice of Belgian soldiers during the Battle of the Yser, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian took the floor to emphasize the need to carry a message of peace and coexistence and learn from the past to better face the challenges ahead. A second ceremony was also held in Ypres under the Memorial of Menin Gate, dedicated to the soldiers of the Commonwealth.
The ceremonies of Nieuport and Ypres are the second moment of the celebrations by the Belgian federal government of the centenary of the outbreak of First World War, started on August 4 in Liege. They will end with a ceremony in Brussels on November 11th, 2018, a date which marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, under the theme: the end of the war, return to peace and reconstruction.
