Third Ministerial Meeting of Atlantic African States Process Kicks off in Rabat

The third ministerial meeting of the Atlantic African States Process (AASP) kicked off on Wednesday in Rabat, with the participation of 21 African countries bordering the Atlantic, including some 15 at ministerial level, with the aim of consolidating the political momentum of this innovative African partnership. On this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, announced the launch of the AASP website. “In addition to bringing us up to date with the times, this digital platform will enable us to increase our visibility and serve not only as an information relay between members of the Process and partners, but also as an instrument for advocacy and the search for partnerships”, said the Minister. The initiative to create a ministerial meeting of the AASP is the enshrinement of the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to make the Atlantic African space a zone of peace, stability and shared prosperity. This third edition follows two ministerial meetings held respectively in Rabat and New York in 2022. The first ministerial meeting, held in Rabat on June 08, 2022, resulted in the Rabat Declaration I, which underlined the political commitment of Atlantic African countries to implement their partnership aimed at strengthening ties of cooperation and integration between African countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, with a view to consolidating peace, stability and shared prosperity in the region. The second edition of the ministerial meeting, which took place in New York on September 23, 2022, launched work on the Program of Action, which constitutes a roadmap to enable the member countries of this initiative to achieve their common objectives on three strategic priorities: political and security dialogue, blue economy, maritime connectivity and energy, and protection and conservation of the marine environment.