HM King Mohammed VI’s Atlantic Initiative to promote Atlantic Ocean access for Sahel countries reflects a pan-African ambition to forge stronger economic and cultural ties with the African continent as a whole, Amina Benkhadra, Managing Director of the National Hydrocarbons and Mining Office (ONHYM), said on Wednesday in Rabat.
This opening-up towards African countries, driven by HM King Mohammed VI, will play a crucial role in Africa’s economic development, increasing trade, promoting foreign investment and consolidating the continent’s security and stability, Benkhadra said at the opening of the first African and Euro-Mediterranean Youth Summit at the EuroMed University in Fez.
« Morocco has made considerable efforts to develop its infrastructure, and the Tangier-Med port is the most eloquent example, » she said, adding that the future port of Dakhla Atlantic will boost the economic activity in southern provinces, West Africa and the Sahel.
Thanks to the enlightened vision of HM King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom adopts openness, integration and all-out development policies that reinforce its undeniable assets, namely its institutional, political and macroeconomic stability, as well as its active partnership policy, the ONHYM Managing Director noted.
The Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline project is part of this momentum, she pointed out, adding that this project will bring benefits not only to Africa, but also Europe, which will benefit from a diversification of supply sources.
Economic, social and industrial development, along with the promotion of employment in African countries, will create favorable conditions for populations and help reduce irregular immigration, she underlined, emphasizing the Kingdom’s steadfast commitment to this regional interconnection initiative.
This infrastructure will not only facilitate gas exports to Europe, but also provide access to landlocked countries, aiming for economic regional integration. Additionally, she noted, it will fight desertification by offering sustainable and reliable gas supplies, aligning with the continent’s new environmental protection commitments.
According to Benkhadra, the Kingdom’s Atlantic seaboard has the potential to become a space of human interaction, a hub of economic integration, and a center of continental and international influence.
Thanks to this Atlantic momentum, the Kingdom will also actively contribute to building a solid bridge between the two shores of the Mediterranean, linking Europe and Africa, to meet common challenges and build a promising future for all, she said.
Held under the theme « Euro-Mediterranean and Atlantic openness: meeting tomorrow’s challenges together », the Summit was attended by university students from over twenty countries.
