Sahel Countries Commit to Morocco's Infrastructural Initiative

By Al Mayadeen English

24 Dec 2023 

Foreign ministers from Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have met with Moroccan officials to push forward a regional infrastructural project.

The foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad expressed their countries' adherence to a Moroccan initiative launched by King Mohammed VI, which is focused on enabling the Sahel States a route to the Atlantic Ocean, the state-owned Agence Marrocane de Presse (MAP) reported on Saturday.

A joint communique released following the Ministerial Coordination Meeting, held in Morocco on Saturday, stressed the strategic importance of this initiative, according to MAP. 

The ministers commended the project which reflects the values of South-South cooperation and regional co-development, MAP reported.

They also agreed to set up a National Task Force in each country, seeking to study potential operational models for the initiative. King Mohammed VI also promised to make Morocco's roads, ports, and railway systems availed to Sahel countries.

This comes after the Moroccan King announced that the country will work on rejuvenating the infrastructure of the Western Sahara region, in order to take advantage of its coastal areas, which can be transformed into a hub for maritime trade.

King Mohammed VI also said, "The problems and difficulties facing African sister countries in the Sahel region will not be solved by security and military measures alone, but rather by an approach based on cooperation and shared development."

In his address, the King said the success of the regional initiative hinges on the infrastructural work to be done in Sahel countries, which should focus on connecting local means of transportation to regional ones.

The new Dakhla Atlantic port, a $3.3 billion project, and the Tiznit-Dakhla highway are the crown jewels of Morocco’s socio-economic development strategy for the southern provinces as they are expected to contribute to the development of African as well as regional trade.