Marrakech – HM the King’s Initiative to Enhance Atlantic Ocean Access for Sahel Countries is “the promise of a strategic turning point for our countries”, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, said Saturday in Marrakech.
‘There are so many substantial and pragmatic reasons which make this Royal Initiative the promise of a strategic turning point for our countries,’ Bourita underlined at the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Coordination Meeting on HM the King’s Initiative to Enhance Atlantic Ocean Access for Sahel Countries, which brings together Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The first of these reasons, the minister noted, is ‘the tradition of cooperation, mutual aid and solidarity which has always existed between Morocco, the Kingdom’s Sovereigns and the sister countries of the Sahel’.
In this regard, he stressed that HM King Mohammed VI has always valued and promoted these ties, adding that the Royal Initiative is part of an active a
nd solidarity-based commitment of the kingdom and the Sovereign personally, alongside the sister countries of the Sahel.
‘The purpose here is, simply and humbly, to build on a tradition of solidarity-based cooperation, to demonstrate a triple conviction underlining the Royal Approach,’ Bourita said.
The first is that for the Sovereign, the Sahel is not – and has never been – a region like any other, even less a simple transition area between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, he pointed out, adding that the second conviction of this triptych is that His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, has always believed in the potential of Sahel countries.
“Where many see problems, His Majesty the King sees opportunities. Where some speak of despair, His Majesty the King sees potential and where some opt for easy solutions, His Majesty the King advocates for substantive treatment to develop real solutions,’ Bourita noted.
This is why, and this is the third conviction, that His Majesty the King defends that develo
pment is the key to the problems of the Sahel, the minister underlined.
In this respect, the Royal Initiative is the promise that Morocco brings all its energy, mobilizes all its efforts and shares all its know-how, he noted, adding that it is a question of supporting the partners of the Sahel to unlock the enormous potential of the region and, thus, accelerate the growth and sustainable and inclusive development of the region’s economies.
This Initiative reflects the philosophy of the Royal Vision, expressed on the occasion of the 29th AU Summit, for ‘the emergence of a New Africa: a strong, daring Africa that defends its interests; an Africa that is influential on the world stage’.
In the same context, Bourita said that if the forces of evil, terrorists, separatists and other spoilers manage to regionalize their threat, there is no reason why the forces of good cannot regionalize growth and development of populations.
‘This is the objective set by the Initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God
assist Him, to promote access of the sister countries of the Sahel to the Atlantic Ocean. Because it would be inconceivable, today, that a fertile soil as the Sahel remains landlocked for lack of solidarity or audacity”, he stressed.
According to Bourita, the Royal Initiative proposes to rethink the paradigm and to build, together, creative and courageous solutions.
‘To mercantile trade, the Sovereign prefers investment that truly creates common and lasting wealth. To anesthetic assistance, the Sovereign prefers structuring and ‘win-win’ projects; and to the relentless security approach, the Sovereign relies on the inconspicuous power of the formation of minds”, he concluded.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse