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The French Development Agency’s (AFD) CEO, Rémy Rioux announced that it will start investing in the Moroccan Sahara, a link between Morocco and its neighbouring countries. He stressed that this decision is supported by the “all-Africa” approach that AFD believes it shares with Morocco.
AFD sees Morocco’s influence in Africa as a “driving force” to support the ongoing transitions on the continent. Rioux cited the Atlantic space to strengthen port cooperation; Rabat’s commitment to a pioneering Africa in terms of a sustainable blue economy; food security, with the launch of the Agrifinance platform, led by the OCP Group and supported by AFD, to finance the local transformation of agricultural value chains on the continent; and museum cooperation around the partnership with the National Foundation of Museums, to promote the Foundation’s openness to the continent and exchanges of expertise for the benefit of several African countries.
Rioux also mentioned other cooperation models, mainly in sports and professional training, in which Morocco has played a pioneering role and has intensified innovative initiatives in several African countries.
To support this reinforced exceptional partnership between Morocco and France, the AFD CEO stressed that President Emmanuel Macron’s recent State visit to the Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment During his latest State visit to Morocco last month, President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France’s support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. The Autonomy Plan, says that the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.
For France, autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the framework within which this issue shall be resolved . This constitutes now the only basis to achieve a just, lasting, and negotiated political solution, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions. The French President also reaffirmed his commitment that France will further support Morocco’s efforts to promote the Sahara’s economic and social development, for the benefit of the local populations.
The AFD CEO, who highlighted the priority sectors for the Moroccan-French partnership, cited first and foremost the preservation of natural resources, which is one of the major challenges for many countries, including Morocco, in the coming years.
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Morocco is the AFD Group’s leading partner country worldwide. Over the past thirty years, the Group has invested more than €7 billion to support the reforms and innovative investments defined and carried out by Moroccan public and private stakeholders.
