The first Ministerial Meeting of the African Atlantic States was held in Rabat, the Kingdom of Morocco on 7th and 8th June 2022, with the participation of 21 countries on the Atlantic coast, of which about fifteen were represented at the ministerial level.
To ensure that justice is done to the identified themes, an expert session was convened for in-depth insight and to come up with a renewed vision that would proffer vital solutions to the issues outlined on the agenda.
The meeting focused on three themes, namely, “Political Dialogue, Security and Safety”, “Blue Economy and Connectivity” and “Environment and Energy”, the session offers an opportunity to develop a common African vision of this vital space, to promote an African Atlantic identity and defend the strategic interests of the Continent with a single voice.
To this end, three thematic rapporteurs were designated to lead the discussions. Nigeria, Cape Verde and Gabon. However, each of the three countries was to submit restitution of the discussions. Nigeria leading the political and security dialogue, Cape Verde the blue economy, maritime connectivity and energy, and Gabon sustainable development and environment.
During the deliberations, several important views were expressed with a particular commendation to the vision of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco for his wisdom and demonstration of true love for Africa in making the African Atlantic area a pragmatic and relevant inter-African Framework for cooperation. His Majesty’s commitment to reactivate the geostrategic consultation framework among the African Atlantic States was also noted.
The Meeting seeks to reaffirm the commitment of member states to pursue common principles, shared challenges and converging interests with a view to ensuring peace, stability and prosperity within the region.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates His Excellency Mr. Nasser Bourita, indicated that the initiative to organize such an important meeting for Ministers of the African Atlantic States sits well with the Kingdom’s commitment to augmenting the strategic value of the Atlantic and its desire to see all the riparian countries gather on both sides of the Atlantic around common principles and converging interests.
Following the need to seek political convergence, the economic potential and the common security challenges within the African Atlantic space; concerns were raised over terrorist threats, transnational organized crime and maritime piracy. The sensitivity of challenges facing the environment and their consequences on food security and human flows as well as the challenges of economic and human development were also highlighted.
In this regard, the Minister expressed his country’s fullest support for the Conference of African Atlantic States as an appropriate framework for capitalizing on mutually beneficial opportunities for cooperation, including the existing regional, sub-regional and inter-regional mechanisms.
The rationale is geared toward generating the desired synergies and producing effective and proactive responses to the challenges of this shared space, particularly through the designation of dedicated National Focal Points for the African Atlantic Process in the framework of this Conference.
At the end of the discussions, the Ministers of the African Atlantic States agreed to reactivate the Permanent Secretariat of the Conference based in Rabat and will be coordinating actions and preparing meetings. The Permanent Secretariat will also act as a platform for the exchange of information on challenges and opportunities in the African Atlantic space. They also agreed to hold a second Ministerial Meeting of the African Atlantic States in the Kingdom of Morocco next year at a date to be announced.
The Ministers also called for strengthening transatlantic cooperation, particularly with Latin American countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, and decided to meet on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2022.
The closing session climaxed with the Africa Day celebration, characterized by a symbolic display of different African food recipes. The picture below shows the Sierra Leone stall at the event.
END.
Recorded by:
Alhassan Kargbo
First Secretary.
10th June 2022
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