The city of Gioia Tauro in Calabria, Italy, has allocated space in the prestigious Palazzo Sant'Ippolito to serve as the headquarters for the Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Morocco for the Calabria region, according to Italian media The municipal administration, led by Mayor Simona Scarcella, made this decision to support the approximately 15,000 Moroccans living in Calabria, who will now have a point of reference in Gioia Tauro. In addition to being home to a strategically important port—the largest in Italy and the eighth largest in Europe in terms of goods traffic—the city of Gioia Tauro now gains a diplomatic authority with regional scope. Mayor Scarcella, along with her councilors Cristian Guerrisi, Damiana Petrelli, City Councilor Luciano Mangione, Consul Domenico Naccari, and his advisers Giuseppe Saletta and Nicolino Lagamba, inspected the new offices. «The initiative of Mayor Scarcella and her Council is historic», commented Consul Naccari, as quoted by the Italian newspaper Il Reggino. «It establishes a direct relationship between Gioia Tauro and Morocco, which—according to statistical data—is expected to grow by 3.7 percent in 2024, surpassing all African economies and becoming one of the most attractive countries for investments».
