Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita presided over a diplomatic ceremony in Rabat on Monday to mark Africa Day, bringing together virtually the entire body of African ambassadors accredited to Morocco in a gathering that served as both a commemoration and a restatement of the philosophical foundations of Morocco’s African policy. His address, delivered at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, drew heavily on the framework King Mohammed VI has consistently articulated since 2000: not a policy of proximity, not a policy of rapprochement, but a policy of belonging.
“Morocco does not deal with Africa as if it were a neighborly policy or a policy of rapprochement,” Bourita told his peers. “We do not consider Africa to be one option among others, nor a simple diplomatic opportunity.” Morocco’s relationship with the continent, he insisted, stems from deep conviction and a sense of belonging. The Kingdom is inseparable from Africa, he said — Africa cannot be conceived without Morocco. He grounded this claim in the Constitution, which explicitly names the African dimension as an essential element of Moroccan identity.
Bourita traced Morocco’s role in African emancipation: it was in Casablanca that the first reflections on African integration and the creation of an African organization germinated, and it was in Rabat that the first meeting of colonies under Portuguese domination convened to unify visions and methods of struggle against colonialism. He invoked the King’s own words — “Africa is my home, Africa is my continent” — as a formula that translates a deep reality rather than a diplomatic gesture.
He cited the institutional architecture of the relationship: Morocco has today 1,832 agreements with African countries, of which 1,472 were signed since the accession of King Mohammed VI to the throne, a rate of treaty formation that has no equivalent in the country’s diplomatic history. These are structured through approximately 25 joint commissions and 24 business councils, covering every region of the continent.
Bourita also used the occasion to thank Africa for its role in defending Morocco’s territorial integrity. Two-thirds of African countries support Moroccan sovereignty and the autonomy plan, he noted, describing this as “a strong message that separatism no longer has a place in Africa.”
The dean of the African diplomatic corps, Cameroonian Ambassador Mouhamadou Youssifou, responded by invoking the potential of Morocco’s water management expertise for a continent where over 400 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
