Multi-dimensional cooperation: Senegal, Morocco sign two agreements for bilateral cooperation on transport, minerals, energy, in presence of Moroccan King & Senegalese President. (Photo: Le Matin)
Middle East Online (Dakar, Senegal, March 17, 2013) — Morocco and Senegal on Saturday signed two agreements for bilateral cooperation between the two countries on transport, minerals and energy, in the presence of Moroccan King Mohammed VI and his host, Senegalese President Macky Sall.
The first agreement deals with “the international road transportation of people, and goods, and was signed by signed by the Moroccan Minister of Equipment and Transport, Aziz Rabbah, and Senegal’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Thierno Alassane Sall.
The second agreement, a draft agreement pertaining to cooperation in the sectors of mining, hydrocarbon, electricity and renewable energy, was signed by Fouad Douiri, Morocco’s Energy Minister and his Senegalese counterpart Aly Ngouille Ndiaye.
“Morocco is willing to assist Senegal in the electrification field, especially through the construction of energy infrastructure. In the mining sector, Senegal has huge potential, which need improvement in their exploitation; this is the case of the phosphates. The present agreement will serve as a platform for Moroccan companies to grow in Senegal, notably the Moroccan Hydrocarbon Office, which will carry out exploration activities, Fouad Douiri said.
King Mohammed VI addresses Morocco and Senegal’s shared vision on “the growing challenges and risks facing our common strategic space, which borders the Atlantic and the Sahel region,” at an official dinner hosted Friday by the Senegalese President. (MAP)
The agreements come within the framework of the official visit paid by the Moroccan King to Senegal, the first leg of an African tour which will take him to the Ivory Coast and Gabon. The Moroccan King also met with a number of Senegalese political leaders in Dakar. The meetings were held in the presence of the King’s special advisors, Zoulikha Nasri and Fouad Ali El Himma.
Gustave Osah, Head of the Civic Committee for Africa, a development network, said earlier that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI is leading “a development initiative” during his African tour. Osah, noted that the official visits paid by King Mohammed VI to several African countries were supportive of the initiative and course of development in Africa, highlighting the dynamic growth of South-South cooperation.
The Civic Committee for Africa is a continental network that includes a number of associations working to improve the effectiveness of public Asian support to development in Africa. On the sidelines of the preparatory ministerial meeting of the 5th Tokyo International Conference for Africa’s Development, which is held Saturday and Sunday in Addis Ababa with the participation of Morocco, the Head of the Civic Committee for Africa said, “We are very proud of the royal visit and we admire this enthusiasm that reflects Morocco’s keenness to promote cooperation and effective contribution to progress and prosperity in Africa.” The preparatory ministerial meeting is organized by Japan in cooperation with the United Nations, the World Bank, the United Nations Programme for Development, and the African Union.
Osah said that the official visits of the Moroccan King to Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon “reflect Morocco’s determined position towards the process of development in African countries, a position that reaffirms the Kingdom’s commitment to the principles of solidarity and multi-dimensional cooperation.”
Osah noted that “Africa’s Development rests on the shoulders of its children,” and that the visit of the Moroccan Monarch “translates effectively the attention the King accords to the progress of the continent through the completion of infrastructure projects and socio-economic programs,” noting that the “personal commitment” of the Moroccan King translates a desire to strengthen African-African relations, especially in the field of human development.
HM King Mohammed VI is visiting Senegal, Ivory Coast, & Gabon on this Africa trip this week.
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