HM the King's African Policy Led to Morocco’s Return to AU (FM)
The African policy conducted by HM King Mohammed VI led to Morocco’s return to the African Union (AU), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, said in an interview with French weekly "Jeune Afrique".
This policy is aimed at reinforcing Africa’s collective action and having the voice of the kingdom heard within the AU, including on the Sahara issue, he pointed out, adding that HM the King has set two objectives.
The first one is to contribute to Africa’s collective action, the minister explained, noting that the Kingdom is active in all the AU meetings.
Moreoever, HM the King has proposed, in his capacity as the designated leader to manage the issue of migration at the continental level, an African Agenda for migration, Bourita said, adding that Morocco has also sent to President Paul Kagame a document on the AU reform.
The second objective is to make Morocco’s heard within the African organization, including on the Sahara issue, the minister said, noting that as soon as it participated in a Summit of the Union, Morocco had to correct the untruths peddled for years by some parties.
On Algeria, Bourita said that relations between Rabat and Algiers « have stalled at all levels".
"There are no changes in relations with Algeria," he said. "No bilateral visits to Morocco for more than seven years. Coordination is at a standstill at all levels. The meetings of the Arab Maghreb Union are no longer held and the Maghreb remains the least integrated region on the continent."
"Even when Morocco announced in July 2016 its intention to regain its place within its Pan-African family, Algeria launched unrelenting diplomatic and media campaigns," he said.
Commenting Morocco’s request to join ECOWAS, Bourita said that the positive response of the organization’s Heads of State on June following the Royal letter of February 23rd "puts into practice the conviction that the accession will be beneficial for all."
Bourita also hailed the visit paid by Angola’s Foreign Affairs minister to Morocco in June, the first of its kind in 25 years.
"Dialogue with Angola is part of the Royal approach," he said, adding that the tone was set by the visits of HM the King in countries that still recognize the so-called SADR, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and South Sudan".
On the relations between Morocco and Mauritania, Bourita said that these relations are "important regarding our historical, economic, social and cultural ties".
"Good neighborliness and cooperation are at the center of relations with our neighbor to the south," he said, stressing that "HM the King reiterated his attachment to these relations in his last contacts with President Mohammed Ould Abdelaziz".
On relations with the European Union (EU), Bourita said that "partnership with the EU is at the heart of our external relations".
Commenting maritime delimitation with the Canary Islands, the minister stressed that "this is not maritime delimitation". "It is much simpler than that," he said, explaining that "Morocco has carried out an elementary updating of the texts concerning its maritime spaces on all its coasts that go back to 1973, 1975 and 1981 and which did not correspond to the reality on the ground and did not comply with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea." "It is now corrected," he concluded.
MAP 27 August 2017