Morocco has stressed the need to turn into concrete actions the common commitment of the Non-Aligned Movement with its principles and values, so as to unify the political will of its members and consequently strengthen the role of the United Nations as a necessary platform for multilateral action.
The call was launched by Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Hilale, who led the Moroccan delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Baku, Azerbaijan, July 5-6.
“As the largest gathering of States within the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement is an essential platform for action and a powerful force of proposals for tackling global challenges,” Hilale said during the general debate of the NAM ministerial meeting, pointing out that this high-level meeting is an opportunity to suggest approaches that would yield realistic and pragmatic solutions to the major challenges facing the world today.
The ambassador stressed that the world is actually witnessing today complex crises with a clear and significant impact on international relations, which requires urgent and concrete collective responses from the international community.
He recalled the speech of King Mohammed VI at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in which the Sovereign underlined that “everyone now realizes that the gloomiest predictions have unfortunately become a bitter reality. Mankind has but one of two choices: either surrender to self-destructing apathy, or engage honestly and unequivocally in a set of practical measures that can rapidly effect a real change in the current policy, which has proven its ineffectiveness.”
In this regard, Hilale noted that the African continent is the most affected by the consequences of the difficult economic situation triggered by the current geopolitical crisis, as it bears the heaviest burden due to the increase in food and energy prices, which weakens the achievements of the continent in the fight against poverty.
“Africa has all the assets to turn challenges into opportunities, and to emerge stronger from this crisis thanks to its significant human and natural resources, in addition to future gains and advantages through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement”, the diplomat added.
The ambassador stressed that the King recalled this reality in his speech at the 28th summit of the African Union, when the Sovereign pointed out that “We, peoples of Africa, have the means and the genius; together, we can fulfill the aspirations of our peoples.”
Hilale also recalled the royal visits paid to several African countries, which were the most eloquent expression of this courageous Moroccan approach aimed at developing an innovative and concrete South-South cooperation model, based on the sharing of knowledge, skills, experience and resources, and the effective contribution to the implementation of development projects, within the framework of a collaborative framework based on an integrated and multidimensional approach.
To this end, the diplomat called for promoting international cooperation for the benefit of African countries and helping them to overcome the current unprecedented challenges, not only through debt relief, but also through integrated development initiatives that would strengthen their resilience in the face of current and future challenges related to food security, climate change and energy transition.