Morocco's presence within the African Union under the visionary leadership of HM King Mohammed VI has been strengthened during 2022 which is drawing to a close in the service of the development of the Continent and the prosperity of African citizens in the framework of the Royal Vision of a dynamic and growing South-South cooperation.

Morocco's action within the AU over the past five years has been guided by a reference framework set by HM King Mohammed VI. This summit comes five years after the return of Morocco to the African Union. The historic speech of His Majesty the King in 2017 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa in which the Sovereign affirmed: "You will see it: as soon as the Kingdom sits effectively, and that he will be able to make his contribution to the agenda of activities, his action will contribute, on the contrary, to federate and move forward”.

The key role played by the Kingdom in initiating a collective awareness of the need for joint action sixty years ago at the Casablanca conference was the starting point for African unity. Morocco's action consists in sharing with brotherly African countries the Kingdom's experience, expertise and know-how for dynamic and growing South-South cooperation, particularly in the areas of health, education, training, peace, stability, fight against climate change, socio-economic development, promotion of youth and immigration through the African Observatory of Migrations in Rabat which was created following the proposal of HM King Mohammed VI in his capacity as Leader of the African Union on the issue of migration.

Morocco's solidarity with African countries

The Kingdom has always shown solidarity with the countries of the Continent. Thus, from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Morocco expressed its unfailing solidarity with African countries through the initiative of His Majesty the King, who had given his very high instructions for the delivery of aid services to several brotherly African countries. In addition to active solidarity in health, Morocco works to preserve food security on the Continent, the maintenance of peace and security in Africa in addition to the preservation of the environment through concrete actions in the fight against climate change dedicated to the Continent.

Committed to common African action and inter-African cooperation following the vision of HM King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom has multiplied actions and efforts for a prosperous Continent at the service of African citizens through concrete actions as evidenced by the multiple Royal visits undertaken by the Sovereign in several African countries and the signing of nearly a thousand cooperation agreements and conventions between the Kingdom and its African partners.

Morocco's presence in the pan-African organization

Morocco's presence in the pan-African organization was also consecrated this year by the ratification of several treaties of strategic importance which fall within the framework of the realization of the Royal vision of common African action. These are the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, the African Union Convention on preventing and combating corruption, the Bamako Convention on the ban on importing into Africa Hazardous Wastes and on the Control of Transboundary Movements and Management of Hazardous Wastes Generated in Africa, the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the African Parliament, the Africa Nuclear Weapons-Free Region-Pelindaba Treaty, the African Charter on road safety and the headquarters agreement on the establishment of the African Observatory on Migration and the treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency (AMA) under the African Union.

The Kingdom's initiatives for common African action are also illustrated by Morocco's strong presence in the bodies of the pan-African organization, such as its second three-year term after that of 2018-2020 within the Council of AU Peace and Security. Morocco also holds the first vice-presidency of the Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration of the African Union for the period 2021-2023, thus confirming the confidence placed in Morocco by the States. Morocco is a Member of the AU because of its expertise and experience in the field of Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration. The Kingdom also held the presidency of the Special Technical Committee in charge of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Union and the first vice-presidency of the Specialized Technical Committee CTS 8 Public Service, Local Authorities, Urban Development and Decentralization. Morocco also sits on the Administrative Tribunal of the African Union.

Morocco: the gate Between Africa and the United States

The year 2022 constitutes an eloquent consecration of the role of the Kingdom as a gateway to Africa and a natural link with its international partners such as the United States. Two high-level events have particularly illustrated this pioneering role played at the highest level of the State in favour of the stability and prosperity of the continent: the organization of the United States-Africa Business Summit (July 19-22 ) in Morocco, and active participation in the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, held in Washington (December 13-15-2022).

For analysts, these two conclaves reflect the solid attachment of the Kingdom, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, to its natural belonging to Africa and its firm commitment to support the stability and sustained development of the continent. They also highlight the important and promising prospects of the partnership between Africa and the United States in the areas of trade, investment and business, capitalizing on the free trade agreement signed in 2004 between Rabat and Washington. With a view to an inclusive and lasting partnership or the American programs geared towards supporting economic development in Africa, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

In this sense, Morocco's contribution to deepening economic and commercial ties between the two parties is illustrated through several assets, in particular its unique geographical position, at the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and America, infrastructure meeting international standards and young, qualified human resources thanks to quality training. The proximity of the European and American markets, the structuring of projects in terms of solar and wind energy, in addition to the new investment charter, equipped with an attractive and incentive system, are also significant assets that the Kingdom brings to this equation for a win-win partnership that can also capitalize on the advantages and potentialities offered by the African Free Trade Area to further develop activities on the continent as well as on the framework of joint action for energy security that offers the gas pipeline project between Morocco and Nigeria.

This project aims to transport more than 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas through the region, which will stimulate the production of electricity and improve access to energy in the countries crossed, thus contributing to securing the global energy future. At the Leaders' Summit in Washington, held under the aegis of US President Joe Biden, Morocco showcased its successes and reiterated its commitment to capitalize on its achievements to attract more investors to the country but also in favour of the whole country. Africa, particularly in two particularly strategic areas in this situation: food security and energy autonomy. Emphasis was thus placed on the Kingdom's great potential in the agricultural sector, particularly concerning fertilizers in this difficult period, as well as Morocco's assets in the energy transition and green energy sectors.