GCC commends Moroccan King’s Atlantic African Initiative, welcomes Morocco’s reform projects

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, commended the Atlantic African Initiative launched by King Mohammed VI for Sahel States.

The GCC States welcome the Atlantic African Initiative of King Mohammed VI which will strengthen cooperation between Sahel and Atlantic coast States, Albudaiwi said during the GCC-Morocco ministerial meeting held on Sunday in Riyadh.

Albudaiwi underlined the importance of the strategic partnership between Morocco and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as the aspiration of the Council’s member States to further consolidate economic relations between the two parties.

During the meeting, which brought together the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and his peers of the GCC member countries, the GCC countries also welcomed the reforms and projects undertaken by Morocco, to develop various socio-economic sectors and infrastructure in the Kingdom.

In his address, GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the major reforms initiated by the King in the various political and economic areas, emphasizing the importance of the strategic partnership between the two parties which was endorsed by the latest Doha meeting.

For his part, Qatar’s Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the current session of the Council’s Ministerial meeting, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, underlined that the strategic partnership with Morocco is a source of pride for the GCC countries which aspire to further promote it, emphasizing the importance of strengthening this cooperation and setting it on a sustainable path.

The Qatari official also congratulated the Kingdom for the tripartite organization of the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. He reaffirmed GCC countries’ willingness to provide the necessary support to Morocco and to contribute to the implementation of the projects that the Kingdom has undertaken under the leadership of the King to host this global event .

The meeting provided an opportunity to review the results achieved so far by the strategic partnership between the two parties and to examine the means to further strengthen this partnership in accordance with the shared vision of King Mohammed VI and the heads of State of the GCC countries, since they laid the foundations of this strategic partnership at the Morocco-GCC Summit, held on April 20, 2016 in Riyadh.

The meeting was also an opportunity for the two sides to consult and coordinate their positions on the situation and challenges in the region and on regional issues, notably the efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and to protect the Palestinian people in line with international law and international humanitarian law.

Bourita who underlined the importance of this meeting, noted that relations between Morocco and the brotherly GCC countries are excellent and are based on the sincere brotherhood ties binding King Mohammed VI and his brothers the Heads of State of the GCC. The cooperation and consultation relations between the two parties is a model to follow in Arab-Arab relations, he said, noting that since 2011, relations between Morocco and the GCC States have thrived and advanced and that today, time has come to progress towards even broader horizons.

The GCC is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.