St. Vincent & the Grenadines reaffirms support for Morocco’s territorial Integrity, hails King’s leadership

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has reaffirmed support for Morocco’s territorial Integrity, and considered the Autonomy Plan as being the ‘unique solution’ to the Sahara Issue.

This position was expressed in a joint communiqué issued at the end of talks held in Rabat on Friday between the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Everad Gonsalves, and foreign minister Nasser Bourita.

In this context, Gonsalves hailed Morocco’s commitment to the political process under the auspices of the United Nations and the Kingdom’s full cooperation with the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.

The Rime Minister who was accompanied by Inga Rhonda King, the country’s permanent representative to the UN, also praised the UN efforts as the exclusive framework for achieving a realistic, pragmatic and lasting political solution to the regional conflict over the Sahara.

In this connection, Bourita briefed Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on the latest developments of the Sahara issue and reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to the ongoing political process aimed at reaching a just and final solution to this artificial conflict.

The PM Ralph Gonsalves has also welcomed the leadership of King Mohammed VI in Africa and worldwide and his support of regional diplomacy, socio-economic development, and South-South cooperation, added the joint communiqué.

He likewise highlighted the role of the King, Commander of the Faithful, in promoting the values of peace, coexistence and mutual respect among all people, regardless of their religious beliefs.

According to the joint communiqué, discussions during the visit focused on an evaluation of the ongoing cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of agriculture, health, education, human resources development through vocational training of civil servants in priority fields for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and highlighted by the adoption of a new roadmap for bilateral cooperation for 2023-2025.

At the multilateral level, both sides called for the development of a high-level joint political dialogue and stressed the importance of intensifying their contacts with the aim of further harmonizing their positions within multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations.

During his visit to Morocco this July 20 – 21, Gonsalves also met with the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, as well as with the president of the Moroccan Employers’ Association (CGEM), Chakib Alj.

Talks addressed ways of strengthening cooperation relations between the two countries with focus on Investment potential and the diversification of economic cooperation.

During the talks with the CGEM Chief, the two parties identified several sectors for economic cooperation, including agriculture, tourism and finance.

Gonsalves stressed that ties with Morocco are dominated by state-to-state relations, and that it was time to include the private sector, to strengthen investment and trade.

For his part, Alj pointed out that Morocco is a bridge between Latin America and the Arab-African world, and that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a platform to Latin America and the Caribbean islands.

Based on their complementarities, Morocco and St. Vincent and the Grenadines could develop trade links and create jobs in several sectors such as agriculture, local handicrafts, and tourism, Alj pointed out.