Rabat – While the UK prepares to flex its diplomatic muscles in Africa, a move many have dubbed as post-Brexit Britain’s ambitions to join the “second scramble for Africa’ as soon as the country leaves the EU at the end of this month, Morocco is poised to play a central role in the intensification of UK-Africa relations.
At the UK-Africa summit, which opened earlier today in London, the North African kingdom sent an important delegation to signify its readiness to take center stage in the UK’s African seduction campaign.
Led by Head of GovernmentSaad Eddine El Othmani, the delegation’s main message was to reiterate Morocco’s central position in terms of investments, diplomacy, and development initiatives in Africa, official statements from the Moroccan government have indicated.
In a tweet minutes before the event’s opening ceremony, El Othmani summarized Morocco’s agenda in participating in the London meeting.
“This is an additional opportunity to strengthen Moroccan leadership, boost bilateral relations with the UK, develop cooperation with its African brothers, and contribute to African development,” he said.
Morocco, he added, seeks to be the UK’s “partner of choice” in its foray in African markets.
Talking to reporters after the opening ceremony, Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita echoed El Othmani’s points.
But Bourita elaborated even further on the message, saying that Morocco is well-known for its “historical” role as a bridge between Europe and Africa. “Morocco is an indispensable player in Africa’s investments market,” Bourita stressed.
Thanks to King Mohammed VI’s “proactive” and “visionary” diplomacy, especially with regards to the country’s strong and much-lauded Africa-focused diplomacy, he argued, Rabat has become a central actor on the African scene.
“Morocco has a natural vocation to serve as the link between Europe and Africa,” Bourita beamed. This “vocation,” the Moroccan minister explained, comes from the country’s “history, geographic position, but also its knowledge of African and European partners.”
On the British side, there have been signs of similar enthusiasm about Morocco’s “central” and “important” role in post-Brexit Britain’s African ambitions.
Philip Parham, the Special Envoy for UK-Africa Investment Summit, who recently visited Rabat in preparation for the London summit, told Morocco World News in a wide-ranging interview that Morocco’s continental leadership position is an invaluable asset for UK-Africa relations, especially in light of the post-Brexit continuity agreement the two countries recently signed in London.
“We are delighted that Morocco is one of the countries that will be coming to participate in this summit,” Parham said in the interview.
“Morocco is itself a significant player for Africa and an investor elsewhere in Africa. So we see Morocco as a very important gateway to Africa and partner for collaborations in many of these areas across the continent.”
