AU Summit: Faced with COVID-19, Morocco’s King opted for mobilization, solidarity action
Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, King Mohammed VI of Morocco has placed mobilization and solidarity action as a prerequisite to overcome the challenges of the African continent.
The remarks were made by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita this Saturday before the 34th African Union summit, which is held by videoconference.
Bourita said that while some were announcing, from the start of the pandemic, a disaster scenario for Africa, our continent has succeeded in confounding the worst forecasts. “Our continent has shown its tenacity, it has shown consistency in the management of the pandemic without ever skimping on efforts or losing sight of the path to emergence”, the Moroccan official pointed out.
Morocco, in accordance with the Monarch’s vision, is convinced that in order to strengthen African resilience against pandemics and to promote economic recovery, three fields of action of paramount importance for our Continent deserve the full consideration of this Assembly”, Bourita said.
The first action required consists in designing economic recovery plans and innovative post-Covid sectoral strategies for an inclusive economy and sustainable economic and human development, he explained.
He noted, in this regard, that Morocco is ready to share the elements of its response plan to the pandemic with African states.
The second action concerns social assistance as access to health care and vaccination must be granted to citizens, migrants and refugees, Bourita said, stressing that this is the choice made by Morocco, which made it possible for foreigners living in the Kingdom, particularly Africans, to benefit from vaccination and health care. This decision is in harmony with the Kingdom’s national immigration and asylum strategy, spearheaded by the King, explained Bourita, adding that the Kingdom was the first African country to launch a large-scale vaccination campaign that has benefited 400,000 people to date.
The third field of action, namely regional integration in its political, economic and social dimensions, through the strengthening of South-South cooperation and co-development, must be based on complementarity and active solidarity, said the Moroccan official, who underlined the need to strengthen the role of the 8 Regional Economic Communities as pillars of continental integration in the development and implementation of the strategy.
This pandemic has demonstrated more than ever that mobilization and joint action are key prerequisites to overcome the multiple challenges of the continent and to achieve the ultimate objective of the “Africa that we want”, Bourita stated further, recalling King Mohammed VI’s initiative to provide medical aid to 21 African countries to help them in their fight against the pandemic.
Bourita also extended the warm congratulations of King Mohammed VI to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, following his accession to the Presidency of the AU, reiterating the Monarch’s full support to President Tshisekedi in his functions at the head of the AU in the service of the causes of the African continent in a difficult context.
The minister also expressed Morocco’s gratitude to the President of the AU Commission Moussa Faki, and to the Commissioner Ms. Amira Al Fadel for their efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AU summit, held on the theme ““Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”, is expected to discuss the institutional reform of the AU as well as the progress made in response to COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.
