Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, emphasized, here Thursday, the complementarity between the strategic initiatives launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in favor of Atlantic African states and China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.
Speaking at the opening of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Bourita stressed that the projects currently underway in Morocco, as well as the strategic initiatives launched by His Majesty the King in favor of the brotherly Atlantic African States and the Sahel, are in perfect complementarity with the “Belt and Road” initiative, as an integrated and multidimensional strategic project.
He also noted that the Kingdom’s constant commitment to the China-Arab StatescCooperation Forum stems from its long-standing friendship with the People’s Republic of China, under the impetus of the two Heads of State, His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency President Xi Jinping.
The Minister pointed out that the strategic partnership between Morocco and China, signed by the Sovereign and Xi Jinping on the occasion of the historic Royal Visit to Beijing in May 2016, has yieled tangible results, making China the Kingdom’s leading Asian partner.
Expressing his pride in the sustained development of these relations, Bourita reaffirmed Morocco’s ambition to broaden their prospects to encompass promising, value-added areas and sectors, following the example of the smart industrial project “Mohammed VI Tangier-Tech city”.
The trust, reflected in the exemplary cooperation between Morocco and China in the context of Covid, has taken concrete form in the construction of a Covid vaccine manufacturing plant in the Kingdom as part of a singular partnership with the Sinopharm Group, owned by the Chinese state, he added.
The Minister also underlined the achievements of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum since it was set up in 2004, calling for its enhancement and enrichment, in order to make it of hub of renewed partnership, based on a shared commitment to active solidarity and compromise, with a view to safeguarding the interests of the Forum’s member states, on the basis of mutual respect for their national constants, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In this regard, Morocco reaffirms its commitment to the one-China policy, as a clear position of principle, said Bourita.
According to the Minister, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum reflects the joint determination of Arab countries and China to build a lasting and active partnership, as well as the constant wish of both parties to lay the foundations for a new world order that is more balanced, multipolar and based on an active and responsible multiparty structure, while making partnership and cooperation the basis for tackling the challenges of peace, security and development.
Bourita also expressed his wish to see this cooperation continue its successful path with ambition.