Marrakech – The Sahel has always been at the heart of Morocco’s foreign policy, a “reliable partner” of the region’s countries, Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad, Bakary Yaou Sangaré, said Saturday in Marrakech.
‘For us, Morocco is a reliable partner which respects our dignity, our sovereignty and our independence,’ Sangaré underlined at a joint press conference following the Ministerial Coordination Meeting on HM the King’s Initiative to Enhance Atlantic Ocean Access for Sahel Countries.
In this regard, the minister noted that Sahel countries “will do everything possible to benefit as much as possible” from this Royal Initiative which aims to give new impetus to the development of the region’s countries.
HM the King’s Atlantic Initiative “will allow us not only to develop our infrastructure, but also to open up our countries internally and internationally”, he pointed out.
This Initiative, which “comes at an opportune time”, offers the possibility to the Sahel States
to sell their products on the international market at a lower cost, said Sangaré, who, on this occasion, expressed his thanks to Morocco, ‘a friendly country not only to Niger, but also to the Sahel’.
Initiated by Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, this meeting was also attended by Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdoulaye Diop, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabe abroad, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, and Director General of Africa and African Integration at the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chadians Abroad and International Cooperation, Abakar Kourma.
At the end of this coordination meeting, the Foreign Ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad expressed the adherence of their countries to HM King Mohammed VI’s international initiative to enable Atlantic Ocean access for Sahel States, which offers great opportunities for the economic transformation of t
he region as a whole.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse