President of the Moroccan Association of Communal Council Presidents (AMPCC), Mounir Lymouri, highlighted, on July 20 in Dakar, the importance that Morocco attaches to the security situation in the Sahel region, under the Enlightened Leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Intervening at the opening of the international symposium on solidarity with communes and mayors affected by the security crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, featuring Morocco as the guest of honor, Lymouri stressed that Morocco has attached special attention to the security situation in the Sahel countries, under the Enlightened Leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
“Faced with the urgency and pressing need to act, His Majesty the King has undertaken several concrete actions to support these brotherly countries, which are facing major security challenges,” said Lymouri, adding that Morocco, which has made considerable diplomatic efforts in working with the international community to promote stability and security in the Sahel region, has encouraged dialogue between the various stakeholders and advocated peaceful and lasting solutions to the conflicts plaguing these countries.
Lymouri, who is also President of the Tangier Communal Council, noted that Morocco invested more in humanitarian efforts by providing tangible aid to populations affected by the security crisis, adding that food aid, medicines, medical equipment, and other essential supplies had been dispatched to the worst-affected regions.
The Moroccan president also indicated that His Majesty the King launched several initiatives to strengthen the capacities of countries affected by the security crisis, pointing out that these initiatives aim to promote the exchange of expertise and the coordination of actions to face common challenges.
In addition, Lymouri recalled that the Kingdom has encouraged regional cooperation by establishing alliances and partnerships with other countries and organizations in the region, stressing that this approach aims to strengthen synergies and promote collaboration to find lasting solutions to security challenges.
“These concrete actions undertaken by His Majesty the King are a testament to Morocco’s deep commitment to active solidarity and building a better future for countries affected by the security crisis,” noted Lymouri.
The Moroccan official also pointed out that active solidarity in the field of security occupies a central place in Morocco’s South-South cooperation, underlining that the Kingdom has always attached particular importance to regional cooperation and solidarity between the countries of the South.
In this regard, the President of the Tangier Communal Council explained that as part of South-South cooperation, Morocco is committed to strengthening ties with neighboring countries and other African countries to promote regional security, adding that the Kingdom has instituted bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms to counter-terrorism, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime among other security threats.
Lymouri further explained that Morocco, which has developed recognized expertise in countering terrorism and radicalization, has established training and information exchange programs with other countries of the South to strengthen the capacities of security forces and intelligence services, indicating that the Kingdom has also played an active role in regional and international coordination to fight terrorist networks and prevent their expansion.
“In addition to security cooperation, Morocco is committed to promoting economic and social development in the region, as it has invested in infrastructure, human development, education, and health projects in a number of neighboring countries,” stressed AMPCC President, noting that “these initiatives promote stability and security by generating opportunities for local populations and reducing discriminatory factors that could foster extremism.”
The opening ceremony of this two-day meeting, held under the theme “Together for Greater Solidarity and Compassion with Sahelian Communes,” was attended by the Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aïssata Tall Sall, Head of Mayors Association of Senegal (AMS), Oumar Ba, as well as mayors and local elected representatives from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and representatives of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
The Moroccan delegation to this meeting, held under the patronage of H.E. Senegalese President Macky Sall, included Lymouri, the National Wali-Coordinateur of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), Mohammed Dardouri, Project Manager of the African Fund for International Decentralized Cooperation, Mostafa Ameur, Secretary General of the AMPCC, Souad Zaidi, INDH National Coordinator, Said Ziane, and Head of the Technical Cooperation Department at the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Amal Zaidi.
The symposium’s organizers have chosen Morocco as a guest of honor thanks to the Kingdom’s leader status in Africa in the field of territorial diplomacy, with a focus on inter-African solidarity, namely through the African Support Fund for International Decentralized Cooperation, which has implemented several projects for the benefit of African communities.
The symposium aims to set up an inter-communal solidarity fund for communes in fragile Sahelian zones, identify ways and means of mitigating the impact of the multidimensional crisis in fragile Sahelian communes, consolidate exchanges between communes in fragile zones by setting up a network of communes affected by the multidimensional crisis in the Sahel, and boost partnership and cooperation relations between Senegalese communes and fragile communes in Sahelian countries.
It also aims to raise awareness and mobilize local elected representatives in the sub-region on the situation of communes in fragile areas, to establish an inter-community solidarity fund for communes, mobilize institutional partners and several national and international players for direct support to mayors of communes impacted by the crisis, and raise awareness among the general public and other players on the roles and responsibilities of mayors and local elected representatives in promoting peace, reconciliation, security, and sustainable development in the region.