Director of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council think tank, Rama Yade, stated that His Majesty King Mohammed VI had made, in his speech to the nation on the 48th anniversary of the Green March, “an exceptional, bold, and long-term diplomatic move” focusing on Africa and America and integrating “the African solutions vision”.
In a statement to Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), the international expert and former French Deputy Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights stressed that “His Majesty the King is making a bold, long-term diplomatic move focusing on Africa and America, which is part of the major geostrategic changes of recent decades on the global scene.”
The Senior Director of the Africa Center at the prestigious Washington-based think tank noted that His Majesty the King has “a precise vision of His country’s future, based on a triple vocation towards the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Atlantic”, adding that “Morocco’s identity has always been rooted in this multifaceted strategic vocation”.
Referring to Morocco’s African vocation, Yade noted the remarkable boom in investments and partnership projects launched in recent years by Morocco in several African countries.
“Morocco is the second largest investor in Africa, and from Madagascar to Ethiopia, Moroccan mega-projects crisscross the continent in the water, fertilizer, gas, and renewable energy markets,” pointed out Yade.
Yade also added that Morocco has always been proud and at the forefront of the affirmation of its African identity, pointing out that “out of all the countries in North Africa, Morocco is at the forefront of African affirmation and it is increasingly asserting itself as a regional power.”
Highlighting the relevance of the Royal proposal on Atlantic integration, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Director noted that Morocco aims to “exploit all its potential”, stressing that His Majesty the King’s speech “restores the centrality of the South Atlantic and Africa in an approach to promote balance at a time of accelerating competition between global powers”.
Yade added that the Royal proposal integrates the African solutions vision, evident in the infrastructure projects for the Sahel mentioned by His Majesty the King.
Referring to His Majesty the King’s international initiative to give the Sahel states access to the Atlantic Ocean, Yade explained that the Sovereign “drew the consequences of the region’s decline, by revitalizing its prospects for the future in a context of extreme regional and international tension”.