Several Peruvian Media Highlight Morocco’s Leadership in Africa

Several Peruvian media have emphasized the “Moroccan leadership” in Africa, which was once again underlined on the occasion of the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa. The Peruvian media widely echoed the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, in which he underlined the “depth of relations between Morocco and many African countries”. The daily La Razon emphasized the willingness of HM King Mohammed VI to “give an even more sustainable strategic content to the partnership between Morocco and sister African countries” in order to “meet the real challenges of the continent”. Quoting Bourita, the Peruvian media recalled the fifty visits made by the Sovereign in many African countries, visits that have been crowned by the conclusion of “more than 1000 bilateral agreements” with these States. Similarly, noted the Razon, the Kingdom is involved in a process of “sharing its experiences and knowledge with African countries in a logic of South-South cooperation desired by His Majesty,” said the minister in an interview with an African TV reproduced by the Peruvian paper. For its part, the daily Prensa21 stressed that HM the King has always considered that the food security of African countries was a “fundamental issue” for the continent, which has all the ingredients to ensure its own food security. In this dynamic of South-South cooperation, Morocco through targeted programs “has helped to ensure food security and strengthen the productivity of agriculture in several countries” of Africa, noted the Peruvian media. Two other Peruvian news sites (fpp.org.pe and guik.pe) focused on the mechanism of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) that Bourita called “the engine of ‘made in Africa'”, which will allow the continent to stop importing from abroad and flooding the African market. All these Peruvian media also reproduced the statements of the minister on the national issue. They stressed that “the Sahara is Moroccan by history, law and the will of its population. The Sahara is also Moroccan by international recognition through the opening of 25 consulates of friendly countries in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla,” in addition to agreements including the Sahara concluded with Gulf countries, European countries and African States. Bourita deplored that “the problem is now blocked at the UN, because a major player, a neighboring country, continues to block this process, and reject the Security Council resolutions”. Regarding relations with Algeria, the Peruvian media particularly retained the wise refusal of Morocco to “follow the logic of escalation with Algiers (…) preferring not to respond to multiple provocations by way of releases against the Kingdom”. “Morocco never insults the future and considers that any excess is insignificant,” said the minister quoted by the Peruvian media.