“Beyond the pandemic, Morocco has always striven to be a catalyst for development and a provider of peace and security in Africa,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans residing abroad, Nasser Bourita.
Mr. Bourita, who was speaking by videoconference at the ministerial preparatory meeting for the 8th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD VIII), stressed that the Kingdom “resolutely strives to remain so in accordance with the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI”, noting that Morocco’s election to the AU Peace and Security Council for the period 2022-2025, attests to this commitment.
He further noted that “to this pandemic of which we are – hopefully – seeing the end, all continents have paid a heavy price”, noting that the one that Africa has consented to is, undoubtedly, the most substantial.
“The pandemic will leave, and its repercussions on economies and development will remain”, noted the minister, considering that the resistance and resilience of Africa – governments and populations, which have been forced to fight on several fronts at the same time – must be welcomed, in all objectivity.
To the fronts of socio-economic development, political stability and food security, is now added that of health security, he explained, assuring that “Morocco has been and remains in the forefront in Africa to rise to this challenge”.
“In a major development, HM King Mohammed VI launched an industrial vaccine manufacturing unit in January 2022. This project will help meet the Kingdom’s needs, while contributing to the health sovereignty of African countries. brothers,” he recalled.
For Mr. Bourita, “if the pandemic has been an unprecedented systemic challenge, it has also been a unique indicator of the creeds to invest and the opportunities to be seized”. “In this field, we remain convinced that the partnership with Japan can play a qualitative role,” he said.
He also said that as with any endeavor, investment is key, noting that Japanese FDI in Africa has, however, increased from $10 billion in 2010 to $6.9 billion on the eve of the pandemic.
“At the time of post-Covid recovery, we are full of hope that these investments will return to the upward trend which was theirs between 2007 and 2010”, continued Mr. Bourita, maintaining that today before tomorrow, “Africa needs investments: the areas of education, vocational training, health and renewable energies are cardinal to the consolidation of resilient economies on the continent”.
Public-private partnerships – on which TICAD has had the foresight to bet, are an ideal formula for carrying out structuring and large-scale projects, the Minister argued, noting that “joining private sector funds to the guarantees provided by the The State is also a way of multiplying the commitment of some 900 Japanese companies present in Africa, and of encouraging others to join them”.
On the scale of Africa, TICAD can be a lever for the development of entrepreneurship and the creation of wealth, in particular through the strengthening of new digital technologies, he continued, adding that the Covid pandemic -19 has succeeded in convincing a number of brotherly African countries of the need to accelerate this process, which involves a great mobilization of equipment and knowledge.
TICAD benefits from being part of this dynamic, insisted the minister, explaining that this niche coincides with Japan’s primary resource: technology; as much as with Africa’s primary resource: its youth and its human capital. “We welcome this as a priority for TICAD,” he said.
He, on the other hand, underlined that “the consolidation of our actions within TICAD to support efforts in favor of youth, will constitute a sure vector for post-Covid economic recovery on the continent, with a view to sustainable, inclusive and inequality-reducing growth”.
The development of women’s entrepreneurship, in the digital age, is also an opportunity for the empowerment of African women and the sustainable development of current and future generations, he insisted, noting that the entrepreneurship remains, generally speaking, the most credible promise of a better future.
“In addition, the challenges linked to the Covid-19 pandemic have reminded us of the importance of stepping up our efforts to strengthen our health, access to care and social protection systems”, said Mr. Bourita, adding that TICAD, which has made the improvement of universal health coverage one of its priorities, has an important role to play in supporting African efforts in this direction.
In this regard, he continued, “conclusive experiences exist at the continental level. That of Morocco is one of them, and capitalizes on useful experience and practices”, recalling that in the midst of the crisis, in April 2021, the Morocco has launched the project to generalize social protection, under the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
The Minister also assured that the Kingdom “will remain committed alongside Japan and all partners for the achievement of the joint objectives of TICAD”, stating that “our conviction is that this is a long-term job, which is built in the time”.
