UN: Ambassador Hilale Outlines Strategic Axes of Rabat Ministerial Declaration on Middle Income Countries

Morocco’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Omar Hilale outlined in New York the strategic axes of the Rabat Ministerial Declaration on Middle-Income Countries (MICs) adopted at the closing of the high-level International Conference on MICs, which was held on February 5 and 6 in the Kingdom’s capital. This presentation took place Thursday at United Nations headquarters in the presence of ambassadors of Member States, partners, and representatives of several UN agencies, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The participants thanked and congratulated the Kingdom for the strategic vision it has devised for MICs at the level of the United Nations and vis-à-vis international financial institutions. The Ambassador underlined that at the initiative of Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans living abroad, jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and UNDP, this conference, held under the theme “Solutions to the development challenges of middle-income countries in a changing world”, achieved its objectives. He explained that Morocco succeeded in bringing together MICs from Africa, Asia and Latin America and engaging in collective reflection on concrete and action-oriented solutions in order to reorganize development cooperation with and between all middle-income countries. The conference made it possible to rethink cooperation frameworks at the national, regional and international levels to support MICs, noted Hilale, adding that this conclave also succeeded in promoting the emergence of a new “strong and positive” narrative in order to reorganize development cooperation with middle-income countries with a view to meeting their expectations and needs, as well as the challenges they face. The diplomat further stated that the Rabat Declaration called for a paradigm shift in international cooperation in the service of sustainable development, by inviting United Nations entities, funds and programs to further develop specific strategies to engage and provide tailored support to middle-income countries. This Declaration also supports the proposal of the United Nations Secretary-General to establish a high-level expert group to advance the selection of multidimensional indicators that complement or go beyond GDP, he indicated.  Under this Declaration, it was also decided to work towards the development of a Strategic Action Plan for MICs for the period 2025-2030 and to promote dialogue, coordination and cooperation in order to defend and make the interests of MICs heard. The active participation of several countries and the UN system during this briefing demonstrates the great interest in the Moroccan initiative as well as in its outcome: the Rabat Ministerial Declaration which is now an official document of the General Assembly for the current session.  The participants highly praised the Kingdom’s commitment and the efforts made by Moroccan diplomacy to highlight MICs’ priorities at the international level.