Morocco voices total solidarity with Burkina Faso in its efforts to combat extremism, terrorism

Morocco has voiced its total solidarity with Burkina Faso in its efforts to fight extremism and terrorism and condemned the cowardly attacks targeting the country.

“Morocco firmly condemns the cowardly attacks that have targeted Burkina Faso, a brotherly country, and which are contrary to the spirit of tolerance and coexistence that has always marked this country”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, at a joint press briefing in Dakhla Friday, with his Burkinabe counterpart, Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, at the end of the 4th session of the Morocco-Burkina Faso Joint Commission.

He pointed out that the situation in Burkina Faso is closely linked to the instability in the Sahel and Sahara region, where armed and terrorist groups have found fertile ground for their proliferation, noting that over 60% of the world’s terrorist operations take place in sub-Saharan Africa.

The number of victims of terrorist operations in this region exceeds that recorded in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, he lamented.

“Today, there are at least 12 terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and Sahara region, colluding with 19 separatist groups that threaten the territorial integrity of African countries,” he stressed, noting that the scourge of terrorist groups’ infiltration into Africa is a general phenomenon.

Burkina Faso, which is in the firing line, needs support and backing, given that the fight against terrorism in this country will have an impact on the entire Sahel and West Africa region, he added.

The Kingdom, which has made the fight against extremism and terrorism an absolute priority, continues to call on the international community to pay particular attention to this scourge, by supporting the measures and actions taken by African countries faced with this phenomenon, according to a holistic and innovative approach combining humanitarian action, development, and peacebuilding, with a view to putting an end to the phenomenon of terrorism and violent extremism, he underlined.

Bourita affirmed that Morocco is following with interest the development of the transition process in Burkina Faso, and has confidence in the ability of the country’s leaders to deal with all developments in the country with wisdom and with the supreme national interest in mind, stressing that the measures taken in recent months by president Ibrahim Traoré are important for strengthening stability and relaunching the development process in this brotherly country.

After stressing that the transition process is on the right track, Bourita noted that Morocco still believes that elections are not an end in themselves, but are held with a view to achieving stability. “Organizing elections in the absence of security and continuing attacks makes no sense,” he said.

In this context, he praised the wisdom shown by the Burkina Faso authorities, which is a source of satisfaction for Morocco, noting that the Kingdom once again expresses its full solidarity with Burkina Faso at this stage.

“Working to strengthen state structures and interacting with humanitarian needs demonstrate the existence of a sincere will to get Burkina Faso out of this difficult situation,” he added, underscoring Morocco’s readiness to support the development program launched by President Ibrahim Traoré, through support and the exchange of expertise, with the aim of achieving the desired results.

Burkina Faso has shown remarkable steadfastness and stability in this particular context, added Bourita, expressing confidence that this country, with its leadership, its capabilities, the determination of its people and the support of its friends, is in a position to overcome the difficulties it faces during this particular period.

The 4th session of the Morocco-Burkina Faso joint cooperation Commission, held in Dakhla, under the co-presidency of Bourita and Olivia Ragnaghnèwendé Rouamba, provided an opportunity to explore new horizons for consolidating cooperation relations and to build fruitful partnerships in a wide range of fields.
The session was crowned by the signing of 12 agreements covering several cooperation areas.