Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Abroad, co-chaired the official inauguration of the “Pledge to Predictable Payments” initiative in New York with Jeppe Kofod, his Danish counterpart.
Bourita emphasized that this initiative exemplifies the spirit of pragmatic, action-oriented multilateralism needed to redress the current global multidimensional crisis during a meeting organized on this occasion on Wednesday. He stated that “in line with its long-standing commitment to multilateralism and the role of the UN, under the High Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has been among the first Member States to join this initiative.”
As ideological divisions and a narrow focus on national interests undermine the very spirit upon which the UN was created seven decades ago, multilateralism is going through its most significant crisis since the founding of this organization, continued Bourita.
He emphasized that “multilateralism is not a luxury, but a necessity,” adding that in Morocco’s view, regaining trust in multilateralism and the UN requires a focus on practical measures to strengthen multilateral institutions and make their work more responsive to the needs of people around the world. “Solid, predictable financial resources are the basic conditions for building the action-oriented multilateralism we aspire to,” the Minister stressed.
Given the extraordinary demands placed on our Organization’s resources by the interconnected challenges of climate change, food security, energy security, and poverty alleviation, Bourita continued, predictable payments of contributions to the regular budget of the UN are a sine qua non requirement for the proper functioning of the various agencies of our Organization. “These challenges question our collective ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” he underlined.
While he welcomed the improvement in the UN’s financial standing for the fiscal year 2022 as a result of the Secretary General’s appeal, the Minister emphasized that “yet more is to be made to redress the severe financial crisis the UN is facing.” “Indeed, Morocco deems it unacceptable that UN’s action be dictated by the availability of liquidity rather than planning and political priorities identified by its Member States in light of the current challenges,” said Bourita.
He continued, Morocco remains committed to paying its contribution to the UN regular budget within 30 days of the beginning of the year. Morocco’s commitment to multilateralism and the centrality of the UN has remained unwavering since its independence.
The Moroccan Foreign Minister added that the Kingdom also provides “support to various agencies of the United Nations through voluntary contributions, which have reached 1.4 million dollars in 2022, in addition to its contribution to the regular budget of the Organization.”
To conclude, the Minister stated that the United Nations needs the resources to successfully carry out its mandates, which have become even more important in light of the current multidimensional crisis, so Member States are urged to make their contributions in full and on schedule.