Rabat Declaration Initiates Structuring of Middle-Income Countries Group – Morocco’s FM –

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The Rabat Declaration, adopted at the end of the High-Level Conference on Middle-Income Countries (MICs), is the first step towards structuring this group of countries so that it can be a force for proposal and negotiation within international organizations and at regional and multilateral meetings, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, said on Tuesday. Speaking at a press briefing at the end of the Conference, Bourita stressed the importance of this group for the international community, given its weight (108 countries), its economic and demographic contribution (75% of the world’s population and 30% of international GDP), as well as its cultural, geographic and economic diversity. He also explained that the aim of the Rabat Conference is to call on multilateral, economic and financial institutions to ensure that these countries have access to financing commensurate with the progress they have made and their ambition to pursue the dynamic of socio-economic development. It also aims to strengthen interaction between these countries, said the Minister, noting the abundance of successful experiences and lessons to be shared, as part of the South-South cooperation policy advocated by HM King Mohammed VI. These countries also need to be supported in order to emerge from the middle-income trap and ensure the transformation of their economies, argued the Minister. “The international community will never be able to achieve the Millennium Goals without the mobilization of these countries,” insisted Bourita, noting that this “homogeneous group can influence decisions within regional, international and multilateral bodies.” These countries are the driving force behind any action the international community wishes to take to guarantee economic and social development, he said, citing as an example the objectives linked to the energy transition, which cannot be achieved without the contribution of this group.