“We advocate this cooperation, which allows us to strengthen our culture of belonging to Africa”, maintained Ms. Bouaida, in an interview granted to the MAP agency on the sidelines of her participation in the work of the 9th Africities Summit, whose work end on Saturday in Kisumu.
In all of his speeches, King Mohammed VI continues to insist on South-South cooperation and the interest we have for our African brothers, she noted, adding that the Kingdom has always been present as a continental leader in many aspects.
These include aspects related to development and reforms undertaken by the Kingdom, which are now recognized as examples for African countries, said the President of the region Guelmim Oued-Noun.
Addressing Morocco’s strong presence at the Africities 9 Summit, she recalled that the Kingdom had hosted the 8th edition of the Summit in 2018, making it a co-host country of the current edition.
Morocco has helped a lot to make this event a success, which explains the importance of the Moroccan delegation and also the interest aroused by the Morocco Pavilion, she noted.
Through this presence, Morocco also tends to establish links between Moroccan regions, municipalities and local authorities and those of the rest of Africa, she added, noting that during the summit, African local authorities showed great interest in getting closer to their Moroccan peers.
Returning to the main achievements and experiences that Morocco can share with sister countries, Ms. Bouaïda said that the Kingdom is keen to share its experiences, such as that of advanced regionalization.
In the environmental field, Morocco stands out as a model country at the continental level, she added, referring to the ambitious transition to renewable energies, the desire to reach a renewable energy share of 64% of the national electricity mix of 2030, as well as the commitment to carbon emissions.
“Morocco has never been a passive country, it has always been an entrepreneurial country”, maintained Ms. Bouaida, welcoming, in this respect, the experience of Benguerir green city which was the subject of a presented during the work of the Summit.
Economically, Morocco has made a lot of efforts in terms of financing entrepreneurship, which no longer constitutes a problem, thanks in particular to the financial arrangements that facilitate fundraising.
The tools promoting the exchange of experiences and expertise must be set up collectively, she underlined, citing the example of the African Support Fund for International Decentralized Cooperation of Local Authorities (FACDI).
“We can also innovate other mechanisms in partnership with our African brothers, such as a network of African regions which might ensure the promotion of advanced regionalization, and constitute a platform for exchange and reflection on common projects”, she argued.
It is also possible to create a network of African green cities, where certain cities would serve as models, like Benguerir, she suggested, adding that the creation of project banks common to all African countries is even to strengthen economic cooperation between African communities.
The interest of major events, such as the Africities Summit, is to create these links, to promote exchanges and to capitalize on the achievements, explained Ms. Bouaïda, insisting on the need to define a common interest and structure it around an operational tool accessible to all.
