Rabat – HM Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, delivered, on Sunday 6th November 2022, a speech to the Nation on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the glorious Green March.
In his speech, the King Mohammed VI celebrated the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, emphasizing its goal in a bid to support accelerating socio-economic development on the continent.
While the Green march helped the country to regain its territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces, the country continued to be determined to initiate economic-driven campaigns to foster development in the region, benefiting not only Morocco but the whole continent.
The monarch emphasized that Morocco’s southern provinces have served as a link between Morocco and its African roots at the “human, spiritual, cultural, and economic levels,” stressing that the Moroccan approach is in line with special relations that Morocco enjoys with other African countries.
As part of the country’s determination to consolidate these ties, Morocco worked along with Nigeria on a gas pipeline project, which is more than “just a bilateral project between two sister nations,” the King said.
“I want this to be a strategic project that benefits all of West Africa – a region which is home to more than 440 million people,” the King said, stressing that the project provides opportunities, particularly in terms of energy security.
“This is a project for peace for African economic integration and for co-development: a project for the present and for the future generations,” King Mohammed VI said.
The 5,600-kilometer-long pipeline project will connect the Nigerian gas to Europe along the Atlantic coast through 13 countries namely Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin.
The much-anticipated project was first initiated by King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.
The project aims to promote regional integration in the west African region and reinforce African energy security.
HM the King Mohammed VI set the ambition to see the project as a major “flagship project,” linking Africa to Europe, extending his appreciation to all regional and international institutions which expressed their wish to participate in its implementation.
The King also expressed Morocco’s determination to work with Nigeria and other stakeholders closely and responsibility to implement the project “as soon as possible.”
In addition to the gas pipeline, King Mohammed VI emphasized Morocco’s satisfaction with the growing support for its position and territorial integrity.
The monarch, however, emphasized the importance of remaining mobilized to defend the country’s unity.
“To continue to be faithful to the spirit of the Green March and its everlasting oath, we need to remain mobilized and vigilant in order to defend our nation’s unity, achieve greater progress, and strengthen Morocco’s bonds with its African roots,” the King said.
Morocco’s position has been witnessing growing support from the international community- with many countries describing the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as a credible and serious basis to end the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
As part of the massive international support, over 27 countries have opened consulates general in the southern provinces of Dakhla and Laayoune.
