The catalyst role of the Kingdom of Morocco in African, pursuant to the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, was highlighted during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting, held on June 11-12 in Changsha, China. This meeting was followed on June 12 by the inauguration of the 4th China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, as part of FOCAC.
In a statement delivered during the meeting, the Moroccan delegation, led by Director of Asian Affairs and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Omar Kadiri, and mainly including Morocco's Ambassador to Beijing, Abdelkader El Ansari, reiterated Morocco's support and contribution to FOCAC, and the Kingdom's firm and concrete commitment to working with China and for Africa, for pragmatic and mutually supportive cooperation, within the framework of a win-win partnership.
This FOCAC meeting provided an opportunity to enshrine, once more, the Kingdom’s role as a crucial continental leader which places Africa’s development and prosperity at the heart of its diplomatic action, on the High Royal Instructions.
In this respect, the Moroccan delegation emphasized that, in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, Morocco has made its relations of cooperation and solidarity with Africa a strategic priority for shared and sustainable development, within the framework of active and mutually beneficial South-South cooperation.
In this respect, the delegation highlighted the Royal Initiatives for Africa, notably the Royal Initiative providing Sahel countries with access to the Atlantic Ocean, which stimulates regional trade, promotes economic integration and opens up these brotherly countries.
The delegation also stressed that the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a generational Royal Initiative and symbol of continental energy integration, will have an impact not only in the short and medium term, but will benefit future generations, noting that the African Atlantic States Process is making the South Atlantic a haven of peace, prosperity and development.
Morocco's active participation in this meeting, attended by senior officials from China and African member countries of the UN, is a further illustration of Morocco's African policy, which has always advocated a diversification of the Continent's partnerships and effective, multidimensional and mutually beneficial South-South and triangular cooperation.
At the same time, the Moroccan delegation made a firm point of asserting Morocco's supreme interests, in terms of its gains and achievements with its Chinese and African partners, as well as with regard to the format of participation in this meeting, reserved exclusively for African states that are members of the United Nations and recognized by the international community.
The meeting also enabled participants to review the achievements of FOCAC, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, highlighting the importance of this partnership framework in priority areas for Africa, and to reiterate the shared determination to implement the commitments made by both parties, in line with the consensus reached between Africa and China at the Beijing 2024 FOCAC Summit.
MAP: 12 June 2025
