Rabat, Feb 20 (MAP/GNA) – Morocco has made the African continent the cornerstone of its foreign policy, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, said on Thursday in Rabat.
Speaking on the opening of the 2nd Forum of Chairpersons of Foreign Affairs Committees of African Parliaments, themed “Towards Establishing Lasting Foundations for Stability and Security in Africa,” Bourita stressed that Morocco is deeply convinced of a comprehensive vision based on promoting peace, security and development, respecting the territorial integrity of countries and the principles of good neighborliness, the non-interference in their internal affairs and calling against sheltering terrorist and separatist groups which threaten Africa’s stability.
He added that the Kingdom, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King, has always expressed its firm belief in the correlation between the elements of the security, peace and development nexus, and that the purely security approach, while necessary, is insufficient on its own to meet the continent’s complex challenges, hence the need for a global vision integrating the social and economic dimensions to guarantee lasting peace and prosperity.
Morocco’s firm conviction illustrates the “African optimism” that characterizes the Kingdom’s overall commitment to Africa, he added, emphasizing that HM King Mohammed VI believes deeply in Africa.
In this respect, Bourita stressed that Morocco, which trusts in Africa’s potential, sees opportunities “where others see only problems,” adding that the Kingdom favors sustainable solutions, even if they are difficult and time-consuming to implement. “Morocco’s commitment to Africa is a commitment to the well-being of the continent, not just empty slogans,” Bourita maintained.
“In His speeches, His Majesty the King constantly insists on boldness, initiative and a high sense of responsibility,” the Minister said, adding that meeting internal and external challenges depends “on our ability to combine initiative and flexibility.”
In this respect, he cited several examples of initiatives launched by the Kingdom with regard to Africa, explaining that to meet the challenge of development aid, His Majesty the King decided in 2000 to cancel the debt of the least developed African countries and completely eliminate customs duties on their products.
Bourita also mentioned the African Action Summit held in 2016, on the Sovereign’s initiative, and the creation of three commissions dedicated to the climate, as well as the “AAA” Initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of food security, which has now become a benchmark in the field.
To meet the challenge of global development, the Minister highlighted the importance of the Atlantic Initiative aimed at facilitating access to the Atlantic Ocean for Sahel countries, as well as the Royal Initiative to meet the challenge of energy security, through the launch by His Majesty the King and the President of Nigeria of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
He highlighted one of the main foundations of Morocco’s African policy, placing the human being at the heart of African action, stressing that the Royal visits made by His Majesty the King to various countries on the continent were an opportunity to get closer to the populations, leaders and political, economic, intellectual and cultural elites, as well as to the concrete reality of these countries, the aspirations of their youth and the expectations of their various stakeholders.
Bourita stressed the vital importance Morocco attaches to the humanitarian dimension in its cooperation with brotherly African countries, assuring that this cooperation constantly gives priority to the implementation of tangible projects beneficial to populations, notably in the sectors of education, health, development and housing.
He added that the Kingdom’s African commitment illustrates its strong sense of belonging to the continent, in that Morocco’s African policy is not a simple neighborliness policy. “Africa is not only a neighborhood to the Kingdom, but a land of identity and geographic and historical belonging,” he said.
“By placing Africa at the heart of its foreign policy vision, Morocco is thus in its natural position,” Bourita said, adding that everything that concerns Africa directly affects Morocco. “Our stability is directly linked to that of our continent, and our development depends on that of Africa,” he underscored.
Bourita also underlined the major importance of this Forum, insofar as it is a “concrete illustration of the awareness we Africans have reached of the imperative need to combine efforts and work side by side to build a prosperous future for the present and future generations of our continent.”
The importance of this event, he pointed out, also stems from the major changes that the world is currently undergoing, characterized by the tangle and complexity of interests and the multitude of players on the international scene, noting that “traditional diplomacy” is no longer capable, on its own, of guaranteeing the achievement of the desired objectives. He felt it necessary to reflect on new mechanisms capable of accompanying accelerated developments.
It is in this context that the role of parliaments on the stage of international events comes into play, he maintained, adding that legislative institutions, in addition to their traditional functions of exercising control over government action, are more than ever called upon to assume new missions as a force for proposals and a laboratory of ideas and initiatives capable of making constructive contributions.
He concluded that the 2nd Forum of Chairpersons of Foreign Affairs Committees of African Parliaments is a source of optimist, highlighting that following the Forum’s first edition, held in 2023 in Rabat, the 2025 edition will consolidate the process of institutionalizing this major event, so as to ensure its sustainability and establish it as an official framework for the collective effort to enshrine a clear and ambitious African identity in terms of objectives, and to consolidate the continent’s strategic choices.
GNA/MAP