The Sahel Alliance supports Morocco's Atlantic Initiative for African development
The foreign ministers of the Sahel Alliance, which brings together Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, praised Morocco's leadership in promoting sustainable development in Africa at the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, highlighting above all the Atlantic Initiative presented by King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
During the conference, the Sahel representatives emphasised the strategic importance of this Moroccan initiative, whose objectives focus on: facilitating access to the Atlantic Ocean for all economies in the region; strong regional trade dynamism; promoting African economic cooperation through infrastructure development and investment; and strengthening supply chains so that exports of value-added products become the economic pillar of the near future for the 14 nations connected by the Moroccan Atlantic Initiative.
According to Mohsen Al-Nadwi, Director General of the Moroccan Centre for Strategic Studies and International Relations, the Initiative reflects Morocco's strategic vision to strengthen regional cooperation, consolidate African economic blocs and position the Atlantic space as a viable geostrategic identity.
Al-Nadwi stressed that the success of the Atlantic Initiative ‘will depend on the participation of the Sahel countries and their ability to adapt to a new world order based on multilateralism and South-South cooperation.’
Morocco as a key partner for African development and integration
Niger's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Yawu Sangaré, commended Morocco's commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation in Africa and its key role in providing the Sahel with logistical access to economic activities in the Atlantic, as well as Rabat's financial support for investment and capacity-building projects in the region.
For his part, the Head of State of Burkina Faso, Kramoko Jean-Marie Traoré, reaffirmed that ‘Morocco is a central player in African integration, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to initiatives that respect the sovereignty and dignity of partner countries’.
He added that the first infrastructure projects in the region and in his country were led and financed by Moroccan institutions under the current Moroccan government.
The Royal Atlantic Strategy, announced by King Mohammed VI in his speech on the 48th anniversary of the Green March, proposes several challenges, including the development of a road network of thousands of kilometres that will connect the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean. This platform aims to facilitate trade, reduce the geographical isolation of the region and promote sustainable economic development.
Following their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have focused their efforts on finding viable alternatives that can help boost their development and guarantee their security, as one of the main problems facing the Sahel Alliance countries is terrorist attacks, with one in three deaths related to this activity occurring in their territory.
It is therefore in this context that Morocco's Atlantic Initiative presents itself as the best strategic opportunity to transform local economies, strengthen regional stability and improve the living conditions of millions of Africans.