Morocco made African integration and South-South cooperation the cornerstone of its foreign policy, said Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita Thursday.
In a speech on the occasion of Africa Day–which coincides this year with the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the African continent–Bourita recalled that Morocco’s conception of Africa’s future lies at the heart of King Mohammed VI’s Vision which was laid down at the 29th Summit of Heads of State of the African Union.
He also noted that Morocco has always breathed, radiated, and lived its many identities–multicultural, multireligious, and transregional–through its African depth.
The Minister stressed that the Sovereign has sublimated the ties among its neighbors on the Continent by instilling a dynamic that makes the Kingdom a committed partner, mobilized and determined to meet the challenges of peace, security, and development, throughout Africa.
The Kingdom is contributing all of its energy, mobilizing its efforts, and sharing its expertise in the service of structuring these regional initiatives, said Bourita, recalling in this respect the Africa/Atlantic Gas Pipeline project linking Nigeria and Morocco traversing the face of West Africa.
Bourita also shed light on the system of accessible and adapted fertilizers developed by the Kingdom to meet the needs of African farmers, which promises higher yields and greater food security.
“In a global context shaken by crises – political, economic, health, and ecological – our African continent can no longer afford to be a mirror that reflects to the world the image of its challenges. It must reflect the promise it makes to the world,” emphasized Bourita.
He added that Morocco is tirelessly engaged in pioneering innovation on the Continent in taking a practical approach far removed from the diplomatic coups and demagogic one-upmanship which has increasingly plagued its neighbors.
The ceremony was attended by members of the government including the High Commissioner for Former Resistance Fighters and former member of the Liberation Army, Mustapha El Ktiri, and numerous foreign ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom.
The participants also attended the opening of exhibition “Brothers-in-arms, from the African independence fight to the co-development pledge.”