Moroccan Sahara, perennial link with Africa

The speech delivered by King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Green March, drew up a satisfactory assessment of the projects included in the Development Program of the Southern Provinces and stated the integrationist merits of the Nigeria/Morocco Gas Pipeline.

While the execution of these projects is progressing by leaps and bounds with a commitment rate of 80% of the allocated budget, the southern provinces are called upon to play the role they have always had, that of link between Morocco and its African depth through the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project (NMGP).

At a time when Morocco’s adversaries are intensifying their attacks through the media and invading social networks with rabid lies, the Kingdom continues, calmly and on the ground, its development march of its territory and consolidates its ties with its African partners.

The clear figures presented in the Royal Speech leave no doubt about the unwavering determination of Morocco to move forward in this march to ensure a dignified life for the inhabitants of these provinces, after having won the political and diplomatic battle, thanks to the numerous supports for the autonomy initiative and the Moroccanness of the Sahara in general.

The King welcomed the positive results achieved in the implementation of all projects included in the Development Program of the Moroccan Sahara, whose purpose is to promote job creation and investment.

The Sovereign listed the structuring projects that contribute to the change of the physiognomy of the southern provinces and their regional and continental integration: There is first the Tiznit-Dakhla expressway in phase of completion, the final connection of the region to the national electricity grid, the extension of communication networks and the finalization of the project of solar and wind energy stations.

As for the other flagship project of the program, the port of Dakhla Atlantic, the Sovereign announced that construction work will start soon after the finalization of studies and administrative formalities relating thereto.

Other projects are also a real reason for satisfaction in view of their undeniable contribution to the creation of thousands of jobs, including the development and processing of fishery products and the development of more than six thousand hectares in Dakhla and Boujdour, which have been made available to young farmers in the region.

Similarly, the Sovereign welcomed the progress made in the phosphate, water and sanitation sectors, urging the private sector to maintain its commitment to promote projects with a social vocation.

All these projects consolidate the vocation of the Moroccan Sahara as an unbreakable link between Morocco and its African depth and as a land called upon to play a leading role in the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, launched in 2016 by the King and Nigerian president Muhammadu Bouhari.

In this regard, the Sovereign noted with satisfaction the progress of this major project, whose contours have begun to take shape after the Memorandum of Understanding, signed recently in Rabat, with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and, in Nouakchott with Mauritania and Senegal.

According to the Sovereign, the signing of this Memorandum is an essential milestone in the process of realizing the project and reflects the commitment of the countries concerned to contribute to the achievement of this strategic project and attests to their political will to ensure its success.

For Morocco, the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which will cross several countries in the region before arriving in the Moroccan Sahara, is not only a bilateral Nigeria-Morocco initiative, but it is “a strategic project that benefits all of West Africa – a region which is home to more than 440 million people”, as His Majesty the King had stressed.

After its completion, it should guarantee energy security to the fifteen ECOWAS countries, and will remain for posterity as a work in favor of peace and economic integration of the African continent, in addition to its mission to link Africa and Europe.

Welcoming the support given to the project by regional and international financial institutions, the King reiterated the concern of Morocco to “continue to work closely, responsibly and with the utmost degree of transparency with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, as well as with all partners, in order to implement the NMGP as soon as possible.”

While Morocco’s opponents remain clinging to outdated and hopeless positions, the Kingdom has shown that the real battle is for the development, prosperity and well-being, not only of the Saharan population, but of the entire African neighborhood.

With the unchanging attachment of Moroccans to the Sahara, with the sacrifices made to recover and defend the southern provinces and finally with the present and future projects under the impetus of HM the King, this territory, the cradle of several Moroccan dynasties, will remain forever the unalterable link between Morocco and Africa.