Mr. Akhannouch, who represents His Majesty King Mohammed VI at this Forum (4-6 September), recalled the fruitful visit of the Sovereign to the People’s Republic of China in May 2016, which was crowned by the signing of the Joint Declaration on the establishment of strategic partnership relations, which reflects the great potential for bilateral cooperation and the strong and sincere political will of the two States to accelerate the implementation of this common vision and move towards promising prospects for the continent.
Speaking at a high-level conference on “industrialization and modernization of agriculture in Africa”, the Head of Government noted that the choice of the theme of this meeting reflects the deep awareness of China and the Continent regarding the importance of industrialization, modernization of agriculture and sustainable development for the Continent.
Mr. Akhannouch recalled that the Kingdom of Morocco has adopted ambitious strategies in this framework, such as the National Pact for Industrial Emergence and the Industrial Acceleration Plan which have contributed to the development of industrial capacities and the promotion of innovation in the Kingdom.
In the same vein, he highlighted Morocco’s concern to equip itself with a new Investment Charter, with the objectives of strengthening the presence of Moroccan companies internationally and promoting the attractiveness and flow of foreign investments towards the Kingdom.
In this context, the Head of Government noted that Morocco is aware of the importance of focusing on sectors of the future, such as renewable energies, electric cars, aeronautics, electronic industries and green hydrogen.
On the agricultural side, the Kingdom has launched ambitious initiatives to modernize this sector, notably the “Green Morocco” plan and the “Generation Green 2020-2030” strategy, he recalled.
Thanks to these two initiatives, Morocco has been able to modernize its agricultural sector and strengthen its productivity and sustainability in order to ensure its food sovereignty, in the face of the challenges of climate change and its effects on agriculture and food security in African countries, in a delicate situation marked by a decline in economic and social development and pressure on natural resources, particularly water, Mr. Akhannouch observed.
He also stressed that Morocco, within the framework of promoting good governance of water resources, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, is preparing major projects with a financial value of more than 14 billion dollars, linked in particular to the adoption of drip irrigation in the agricultural sector, the construction of dams, the transfer of water between water basins, in addition to other innovative seawater desalination projects, said Mr. Akhannouch, assuring that these projects “will allow us to meet our water needs, both for the agricultural sector and for drinking water.”
The Kingdom’s African policy has placed agricultural development and food security at the heart of concerns, he insisted, adding that during the visits of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to African countries, agriculture has always been a key element in the cooperation strategy with the states of the continent, whether through the multiple cooperation programs or thanks to the Royal Directives given to the Cherifian Phosphate Office (OCP) to develop special programs in this area in favor of African countries.
To address the challenges of food security on the continent, the Kingdom has launched major projects, including the construction of fertilizer production plants in Ethiopia and Nigeria, knowing that OCP has strengthened its presence in Africa by opening 12 representations across the continent, as well as stimulating the production and distribution of fertilizers through the launch of eight industrial projects on the continent.
Thanks to its strategic assets and resources, Morocco will remain an ideal partner for China and Africa in implementing various joint initiatives, he stressed, noting that this cooperation will focus on vital sectors such as the modernization of agriculture, infrastructure development and renewable energy.
As the international system has been facing a succession of interconnected crises and profound geopolitical changes in a multipolar world in recent years, joint action such as strengthening China-Africa cooperation has become essential to address the various challenges, the head of government noted.
In this regard, he stressed that Morocco is committed to contributing to giving concrete content to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation through the development of its mechanisms, programs and initiatives in various sectors, within the framework of greater openness to the Chinese pioneering experience, especially since the objectives of this Forum intersect with several initiatives launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, thus reflecting Morocco’s commitment to peace, stability, regional integration and sustainable development in Africa.
These include the International Initiative to Facilitate Access to the Atlantic Ocean for the Sahel Countries, which aims to provide this region with more direct and beneficial access to the ocean, thereby strengthening trade and economic exchanges, in addition to the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project aimed at creating a strategic energy corridor promoting energy cooperation and stimulating economic growth in the region.
The Kingdom of Morocco firmly believes that these initiatives, supported by trilateral partnerships, will play a vital role in achieving a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa, the Head of Government concluded.
During the work of this Summit, Mr. Akhannouch is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans living abroad, Nasser Bourita, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, Mohcine Jazouli, the Ambassador Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Mohamed Methqal, the Ambassador of the Kingdom in Beijing, Abdelkader El Ansari, as well as the President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), Chakib Alj.
2024-09-07 04:12:31