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Rabat – Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita has reiterated Morocco’s commitment to regional peace and stability, recalling that Morocco has not taken any position against Algeria despite Algiers adopting an escalation mode in its relations with Rabat.
Bourita made the comments in an interview with Africa24, in which he discussed several key regional developments including the diplomatic crisis with Algeria.
Asked about tensions between the two North African countries, Bourita insisted that King Mohammed VI’s approach “was not to follow a logic of escalation.”
He said, “Morocco did not take a position against Algeria, it was Algeria that took positions, and Morocco does not follow this logic.”
Bourita emphasized that only once did the Moroccan government issue a press release following a batch of Morocco-bashing statements from the Algerian government. Bourita was referring to Morocco’s official response to Algeria’s decision to sever relations with Rabat in August 2021.
While announcing its decision to sever relations, Algeria’s government blamed Morocco for the wildfires in the Kabylia region amid several similar incidents across the world due to climate change and higher temperatures during last year’s summer season.
Algeria’s accusations came just a few days after Morocco had extended a helping hand to assist in putting out the wildfires in the Kabylia region, offering to send two firefighting jets to help in the rescue operations.
“Morocco also considers anything in excess to be insignificant and many things have been done in excess. Morocco’s approach, his majesty the King’s approach has always been not to react,” Bourita told Africa24.
The Moroccan FM said that the only press release Morocco issued was at the start of the crisis.
“But since then, Morocco has not even reacted to this decision, has not even issued press releases, because Morocco wishes to build the future and not to work to destroy what binds the two brotherly people,” he concluded.
In addition to addressing the rift between Morocco and Algeria, Bourita also spoke about relations between Rabat and other African countries.
“The relationship between Morocco and several African countries is a rooted relationship… King Mohammed VI wanted to build on this heritage of the relationship to give an even more strategic, sustainable content to the partnerships between Morocco and the brotherly African countries,” he said.
Bourita notably reiterated Morocco’s determination to continue to support African sustainable development, noting Rabat’s readiness to share expertise in food security, a major challenge in the continent.
“Malnutrition is a scourge in Africa. More than 200 million Africans do not have access to food and an equally large number suffer from malnutrition. The development of food security is a challenge for our continent,” Bourita explained.
The Moroccan FM also recalled Morocco’s approach to ensure vaccination equality in the whole continent, citing the launch of construction of a vaccine production facility in Benslimane, in the Casablanca-Settat region.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI launched the construction work recently to ensure vaccine self-sufficiency in Morocco while making the country a continental powerhouse in COVID-9 and other vaccine manufacturing.
