By Edmund Mingle
The government of Morocco has pledged to lead the rapid progress of the African Union (AU) to become a more robust organisation in addressing the challenges of the continent.
The pledge comes as the North African country rejoins the Union after three decades of withdrawing its membership.
“Morocco will contribute to making the AU a more robust organisation that is both proud of its credibility and relieved of the trappings of an obsolete era.
“By returning to the African family, Morocco aims to keep up its commitment to Africa and strengthen its involvement in all matters it feels strongly about,” said Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi.
The Ambassador, who declared her country’s intentions for Africa, at the commemoration of Morocco’s national day, known as the Feast of the Throne which marks the annual celebration of the King’s ascension to the throne, said “even when it was no longer a member of the OAU, Morocco never left Africa.”
She quoted Morocco’s late King Hassan II, who, in his message to the 20th OAU Summit on November 12, 1984, to announce Morocco’s withdrawal said, “Morocco is an African nation and it always will be. And all of us, Moroccans, shall remain at the service of Africa. We shall be at the forefront of actions to preserve the dignity of African citizens and ensure respect for our Continent".
According to the Ambassador, the pronouncement by the late King proved prophetic because Morocco kept its promise of remaining African.
“Three decades later, Africa has never been so much at the heart of Morocco’s foreign policy and its international action as it is today.
“The Kingdom has forged a unique, authentic and tangible South-South cooperation model which has made it possible not only to consolidate cooperation in the traditional areas of training and technical assistance, but also to engage in new, strategic sectors such as food security and infrastructure development,” Mrs. M’hammdi stated.
She explained that the important involvement of Moroccan operators and their strong engagement in the areas of banking, insurance, air transport, telecommunications, and housing were such that the Kingdom was now one of the biggest African investors in Africa.
“The time of ideology is over. Our people need concrete and tangible actions. One cannot change geography, nor can one escape the burden of history,” she said.
In view of that, Mrs. M’hammdi said “Morocco should not remain outside its African institutional family and should regain its natural, rightful place within the AU.”
In this regard, she said, Morocco, which would host the COP 22 Climate Conference in Marrakesh, next November, would defend the position of the continent, which is greatly affected by climate change and sustainable development issues.
Touching on relations with other countries, she explained that cooperation, which was already intense with more than 40 African countries, at the bilateral level, would be further expanded and revitalised.
“Moroccan know-how can therefore be offered on an even broader scale and in a more streamlined framework,” she said, adding that Moroccan expertise on security and anti-terrorism, which is widely recognised at the international level and is sought by many countries, including European nations, would be leveraged to promote security and stability in all African countries, particularly those in West and Central Africa.
Following the dispute over the Western Sahara between Morocco and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Morocco, in 1984, withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now AU, over the admission of SADR as a full member of the organisation, demanding an annulment of SADR’s membership, without which it would not rejoin the organisation.
Morocco’s leader, King Mohammed VI, in a live television broadcast on Saturday, formally announced the country’s decision to rejoin the African Union.
He said the decision was to re-establish strategic partnership with other African countries, however, restated his country’s reservations on the issue of the Polisario Front, that led to its withdrawal.
Earlier in July, Morocco requested to rejoin the AU in a message the King sent to the AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, saying “it was time for Morocco to retake its place.”
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| King Mohammed VI |
The pledge comes as the North African country rejoins the Union after three decades of withdrawing its membership.
“Morocco will contribute to making the AU a more robust organisation that is both proud of its credibility and relieved of the trappings of an obsolete era.
“By returning to the African family, Morocco aims to keep up its commitment to Africa and strengthen its involvement in all matters it feels strongly about,” said Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi.
The Ambassador, who declared her country’s intentions for Africa, at the commemoration of Morocco’s national day, known as the Feast of the Throne which marks the annual celebration of the King’s ascension to the throne, said “even when it was no longer a member of the OAU, Morocco never left Africa.”
She quoted Morocco’s late King Hassan II, who, in his message to the 20th OAU Summit on November 12, 1984, to announce Morocco’s withdrawal said, “Morocco is an African nation and it always will be. And all of us, Moroccans, shall remain at the service of Africa. We shall be at the forefront of actions to preserve the dignity of African citizens and ensure respect for our Continent".
According to the Ambassador, the pronouncement by the late King proved prophetic because Morocco kept its promise of remaining African.
“Three decades later, Africa has never been so much at the heart of Morocco’s foreign policy and its international action as it is today.
“The Kingdom has forged a unique, authentic and tangible South-South cooperation model which has made it possible not only to consolidate cooperation in the traditional areas of training and technical assistance, but also to engage in new, strategic sectors such as food security and infrastructure development,” Mrs. M’hammdi stated.
She explained that the important involvement of Moroccan operators and their strong engagement in the areas of banking, insurance, air transport, telecommunications, and housing were such that the Kingdom was now one of the biggest African investors in Africa.
“The time of ideology is over. Our people need concrete and tangible actions. One cannot change geography, nor can one escape the burden of history,” she said.
In view of that, Mrs. M’hammdi said “Morocco should not remain outside its African institutional family and should regain its natural, rightful place within the AU.”
 |
| Ambassador Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi |
Touching on relations with other countries, she explained that cooperation, which was already intense with more than 40 African countries, at the bilateral level, would be further expanded and revitalised.
“Moroccan know-how can therefore be offered on an even broader scale and in a more streamlined framework,” she said, adding that Moroccan expertise on security and anti-terrorism, which is widely recognised at the international level and is sought by many countries, including European nations, would be leveraged to promote security and stability in all African countries, particularly those in West and Central Africa.
Following the dispute over the Western Sahara between Morocco and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Morocco, in 1984, withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now AU, over the admission of SADR as a full member of the organisation, demanding an annulment of SADR’s membership, without which it would not rejoin the organisation.
Morocco’s leader, King Mohammed VI, in a live television broadcast on Saturday, formally announced the country’s decision to rejoin the African Union.
He said the decision was to re-establish strategic partnership with other African countries, however, restated his country’s reservations on the issue of the Polisario Front, that led to its withdrawal.
Earlier in July, Morocco requested to rejoin the AU in a message the King sent to the AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, saying “it was time for Morocco to retake its place.”
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