Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana, Her Excellency Imane Ouaadil, has outlined her country’s strong commitment and contributions to the development and stability of democracy on the African continent.
According to her, Morocco’s relations with African countries has blossomed since the ascension of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the Throne in 1999, resulting in the Kingdom emerging as the most prolific African investor in terms of the number of projects across the continent.
“The Moroccan offer of cooperation in Africa under the leadership and guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI has been unique, since Morocco is the only African country to have a diversified offer of cooperation within Africa that encompasses several dimensions: education and knowledge transfer, peace and security, trade and investment, as well as religious and spiritual,” she stated.
She said this on Saturday, November 25, 2023 in Accra during the official launch of a book titled “Echoing the voice of Africa”.
She said in line with the guidelines of Morocco’s African policy of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and by advocating the emergence of a new model of South-South cooperation, Morocco is working to strengthen the resilience of other African countries by making economic integration, continental solidarity and collective responsibility key elements to respond to changes on the continent.
“Morocco has always focused its foreign policy on strengthening South-South cooperation on the basis of its belief that the development of the country depends on the development of the continent. Morocco has therefore been advocating for the effective operationalization of the AfCFTA as a crucial step towards the achievement of regional economic integration of the continent.
“If Morocco has long been a privileged trading partner of African countries, Today, Morocco’s foreign direct investment into Africa has risen from some $100mn in 2014 to more than $800mn in 2021, by which time 43 per cent of its total FDI went to the continent, according to the finance ministry. That makes Morocco the second-largest African investor in the continent after South Africa, and the largest in West Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco is the first African capital investor and the third largest investor on the continent,” she added.
Morocco has permeated a lot of sectors in several countries in Africa. Here in Ghana, Companies of Moroccan origin can be identified in sectors such as banking, construction, telecommunication and agriculture, among others. The Kingdom’s great potentials in the food security sector, particularly fertilizer also deserves some good mention.
Ambassador Ouaadil emphasized that though Climate change, post covid crisis and ongoing world conflicts are now major threats to food security for the African population, in terms of food security strategy, agriculture and sustainable development, Morocco, in December 2014 moved to exchange experiences, pool expertise, and transfer skills, in a logic of mutually beneficial partnership between African countries under the Marrakech Declaration on South-South Cooperation,
Again, Morocco has also contributed to guaranteeing food security in Africa through the contribution of OCP, the world’s leading exporter of phosphates and fertilizers. OCP has indeed undertaken vast investments in Nigeria, Ethiopia and other African countries to produce fertilizers adapted to the soil of each country at affordable prices for farmers. OCP is also contributing to the modernization of agriculture in several African countries including here in Ghana.
“On the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, OCP is playing a key role in supporting the development of African countries through the provision of fertilizer. The Office donates tons of fertilizer each year through donations or selling at discounted prices. The figure is estimated to reach one million tons in 2023, rising to three million within the next two years.
“Thanks to Morocco s Pan-African commitment through OCP programs and trainings, Ethiopia, has seen a 37 percent increase in maize yield. Fertilizer programs have also contributed to a 23 percent increase in potato yield in Rwanda, and 35 percent growth in rice yield in Ghana,” she noted
“Furthermore, Morocco has offered hundreds of military officers from West African Armies opportunities to receive education and training in Moroccan military academies alongside Moroccan officers. Morocco also hosts a yearly joint military exercise, Africa Lion, the largest U.S. exercise on the African continent, intended to enhance interoperability and mutual understanding.
“On the diplomatic level, the Kingdom has also acted as a mediator in various African crises, such as within the Mano River Union and in Mali. In Libya, The High Instructions of His Majesty the King has been in support of all the efforts of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General aimed at getting this sister country out of its institutional crisis.
As an advocate of a moderate Islam, Morocco also trains Imams from Africa at the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams – male and female preachers.
The Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema, created in 2015, also works to coordinate efforts of Muslim Ulema in Africa, to coordinate African Muslim scholars’ efforts in generating and disseminating ideas of tolerance on the basis of Islamic values, revitalize the common Islamic cultural heritage, and undertake scientific research in Islamic studies.
ABOUT THE BOOK “ECHOING THE VOICE OF AFRICA
“Echoing The Voice of Africa” is a collection of Quotes from His Majesty King Mohammed VI. It contains interesting speeches of the King on African subjects and issues that matter. The compilation was done by Mr. Peter Panyin Anaman who is a president of the Ghana-Morocco Students Association (GHAMOSA).
In a remark, Anaman said he was motivated by the realization that African leaders have not been quoted enough despite the good intentions that they often voice out. He was hopeful that the book would serve as a guide for many who seeks to know and follow the good works of His Royal Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Founder of the Heritage Museum and the African University College of Education (AUCC), Kojo Yankah, lauded the initiative of the author and encouraged him to lead a positive revolution of African youth who would identify and appreciate the good deeds of their leaders.