Morocco,under the leadership of King Mohammed VI,is committed to promoting African integration,development and cooperation as a priority of the kingdom’s foreign policy.
Recalling that the future of Africa depends on effective complementarity and cooperation between its States,Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita underscored,in a speech before African ambassadors and the diplomatic corps accredited to Rabat,the need to strengthen connectivity as the continent celebrates Africa Day.
This Day is an occasion to foster joint action to develop intra-African economic cooperation,as a key pillar for sustainable development,he said.
“Morocco does not celebrate Africa one day a year,Morocco lives Africa,invests in Africa,and believes in Africa every day,” Bourita said,noting that “Africa is moving forward,reinventing itself.”
The King views Africa as a “space of solidarity cooperation and co-emergence”,he said,underscoring the need to strengthen African value chains and locally transform the continent’s resources.
He mentioned the need to address the low contribution of the continent in global trade,currently at 3% and urged more intra-African trade,while working to reduce dependence on imports of goods,industrial goods and pharmaceutical products.
To that end,Morocco “acts as a long-term partner,at a time when some see brotherly African countries as markets to be conquered or voices to be subjugated.”
When speaking of solidarity,Morocco matches words with action,adding that Morocco is not only engaged in trade but also investments.
In this regard,Bourita recalled a series of Moroccan initiatives in favor of the continent,including the delivery of vaccines to African countries during the pandemic,investment in medical,educational,agricultural and energy infrastructure,in addition to flagship projects such as the African-Atlantic Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline,the Atlantic African States initiative,or the initiative to facilitate the access of sisterly Sahel countries to the Atlantic.
“Morocco firmly believes that our continent must have a clear,coherent economic agenda focused on strategic autonomy,in particular through the transformation and development of our raw materials,the digitization of our administrations to streamline integration,and the strengthening of our energy security,in addition to the dismantling of tariff and non-tariff barriers that hinder the AfCFTA and the strengthening of our food sovereignty by developing our agriculture to ensure our food security,” he said.
Morocco will spare no effort to be a catalyst of African solidarity,co-development and cooperation,he said.
Speaking on the same occasion,Kenyan foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi,who is on a working visit to Morocco,highlighted Morocco’s pioneering role in the development of Africa and its constant commitment to the continent.
The Kenyan minister also praised Morocco’s leadership in the industrial field,particularly in the automotive sector,noting that this dynamic is a model to follow.
He urged the consolidation of intra-African trade,the removal of tariff barriers,the implementation of regional trade protocols,and the modernization of infrastructure.
Echoing him,dean of African ambassadors in Rabat and Cameroon’s Ambassador to Morocco,Mouhamadou Youssifou,stressed the importance of the Atlantic Initiative,spurred by King Mohammed VI,as a concrete and solidarity-based South-South cooperation.
He also called for modernizing transport networks,strengthening intra-African trade and removing tariff barriers,noting that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA),although adopted by a majority of states,is yet to unlock its full potential.
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