Vitoria and Tangier demonstrate their closeness
The Mayoress of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Maider Etxebarria, received a delegation from the City Council of Tangier, headed by the head of the Moroccan city council, Mounir Laymouri.
The meeting took place in the Town Hall for an hour and dealt with matters relating to sustainability, the economy, tourism and culture, among others, with a view to cooperating closely in these areas, as officially reported by the Vitoria City Council itself.
Maider Etxebarria and Mounir Laymouri analysed the state of the Álava-Esquivel Palace, owned by the municipality of Tangier since the time when the Tangier city was linked to Spain thanks to the inheritance related to the Duchy of Tovar, which needs to be rehabilitated. In relation to this issue, they initiated a process of "dialogue and collaboration" to find a solution for the deteriorated building. Along these lines, the decision was taken to create a working group made up of technical staff from both cities.
The Álava-Esquivel Palace is a 15th century building flanked by two towers. Throughout history it has housed the Álava family. Visitors such as Francis I of France slept there, as did the Duke of Wellington, who together with General Álava was the victor of the Battle of Vitoria, which saw the beginning of the decline of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. As mentioned above, the building currently belongs to the Tangier Town Hall and is used as a tenement house.
Signature in the Book of Honour
During the meeting between the two councillors, Maider Etxebarria invited the Mayor of Tangier to sign the Book of Honour of the Town Hall of Vitoria-Gasteiz, where Mounir Laymouri left his signature to record such an important meeting.
