The Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mrs. Mbarka Bouaida, takes part in the Executive Council of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States 20th ordinary meeting (CEN-SAD), which started on Wednesday 12th March 2014, in Khartoum.
Mrs. Bouaida recalled, in this regard, that His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, May God assist Him, emphasized that “We have placed Africa in the heart of our foreign policy and have made the deliberate, natural, and strategic choice in favor of a South- South and tripartite cooperation of solidarity, materialized through the implementation of concrete projects in favor of several countries in the continent”. His Majesty also stressed that “strengthening the African States’ institutional capacities constitutes a strategic issue. The best governance, progress within the respect of the law and the peaceful settlement of conflicts, should be shared priorities”.
Furthermore, Mrs. Bouaida indicated that Morocco and the Sahel-Saharan countries are bound with deeply rooted cultural, spiritual and historic ties, which have been enhanced by the multiple Royal visits paid to several African countries, which have brought concrete projects, in a spirit of solidarity, giving priority to economic development programs and capacity building.
She stressed that ensuring security and stability in the CEN-SAD space, depends on the achievement of a sustainable development, based on promoting an active South-South cooperation of solidarity that relies on a global strategy which involves all CEN-SAD countries. Mrs. Bouaida stated that the aforesaid strategy would have to give priority to cooperation in the fields of fighting against poverty, vulnerability and exclusion, the accomplishment of food security, the development of basic infrastructure, human resources development, the promotion of investment and trade exchanges, and employment.
She further noted that if the security threats, in the CEN-SAD space were among the major reasons for holding meetings in March 2012 and 2013, illegal migration has become a problem which the countries of this Space are confronted to, and that necessitates putting in place a new strategy. She also highlighted that Morocco which was a transit country, and has become today a host country for illegal migrants from African countries, has put in place a new migration and asylum policy, which will further reinforce its ancestral human links with Africa.
The Minister Delegate further stated that Morocco, which adopted the principles of dialogue and negotiation for the peaceful settlement of regional and international disputes, has contributed effectively to peacekeeping operations, particularly in the African continent, and made of the African issues a priority in its foreign policy, as evidenced by its full commitment and full involvement in defending these issues, throughout its mandate within UN Security Council.
Mrs. Bouaida stressed that the adoption of a comprehensive approach that can reconcile the imperatives of security, human development requirements, and the preservation of cultural and cult-based identity, has become a guiding principle for cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and its African partners, to achieve sustainable development, to promote Human Rights, and to improve the status of women.
She also affirmed that the Kingdom of Morocco, guided by principles and values and within the framework of its international commitments, supports the Republic of Mali in countering extremist and terrorist groups. In this respect, she reiterated Morocco’s support to the efforts undertaken by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, to solve the Malian crisis, in the framework of the full respect of the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of this brotherly country.
She also indicated that Morocco welcomes the adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution that authorizes the deployment of the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), considering that it is an important step that will contribute to restoring peace, stability and national reconciliation in this country. She also highlighted that the difficult situation in Libya requires of CEN-SAD countries to provide full support to enable this country to preserve its security and stability.
Source: Ministry of foreign Affairs.
