Moroccan diplomacy at the service of peace, stability and African cooperation
Moroccan international policy also achieved broad international support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. More than 100 countries supported the Moroccan proposal as the most serious and credible solution to the Sahrawi dispute. Furthermore, the United Nations (UN) Security Council recently endorsed the North African country's autonomy plan as the most serious and credible basis for resolving the Sahrawi dispute.
Speech by Omar Hilale, Morocco's permanent representative to the United Nations, during the MD Sahara forum in Dakhla, highlighting Morocco's diplomacy and its important role in Africa:
MOROCCAN DIPLOMACY IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE, STABILITY AND AFRICAN COOPERATION
EXCELLENCY, MR OMAR HILALE, AMBASSADOR AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO TO THE UNITED NATIONS.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
In the contemporary geopolitical landscape, Morocco, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, embodies an exceptional trajectory. Royal diplomacy unfolds as the brilliant manifestation of an unshakeable conviction: the greatness of nations is measured by their ability to forge their future together, and solidarity is the very foundation of a more just and equitable world order.
This royal vision is rooted in the Kingdom's millennial legacy, in that secular dialogue woven between the Atlantic and the Sahara, between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, to build a resolutely committed diplomacy.
It is a diplomacy that opts for action and privileges tangible achievements.
The 50th anniversary of the Glorious Green March gives us an opportunity to reflect on this remarkable journey. For the Green March was the brilliant manifestation of a diplomatic philosophy based on peaceful mobilisation, on historical legitimacy combined with the will of the people, on the affirmation of oneself without denying the other. These principles today nourish all Moroccan diplomatic action.
In their great wisdom, the founding fathers of the United Nations laid the foundations in the UN Charter for a global diplomacy based on three interconnected and complementary pillars:
- Development as a lever for collective emancipation
- Human rights as the basis for universal dignity; and
- Peace and security as a condition for the development of nations.
These three pillars, around which I will structure my speech, represent an operational compass for Moroccan diplomacy. The latter is distinguished by being a diplomacy of action, guided by constant principles and embodied in tangible initiatives in the economic, humanitarian, social, environmental, cultural, spiritual and institutional fields, far from any purely intentional or declarative approach.
Thus, under the visionary leadership of His Majesty the King, may God assist him, the Kingdom advocates a concrete form of multilateralism: a multilateralism that is not limited to proclaiming values and adhering to principles. It puts them into practice, creating solutions, strengthening cooperation and participating in the construction of a more just, more united and more sustainable international order.
Pillar 1: With regard to the pillar of development:
Morocco considers development to be the true engine of national stability and of regional and international emancipation and cooperation. At the heart of the Moroccan Vision lies a fundamental conviction: development is not transmitted, it is created together.
This vision was crystallised in the founding words of His Majesty King Mohammed VI during the Moroccan-Ivorian summit held in Abidjan in 2014 (quote): ‘Africa must trust Africa’ (end of quote).
This is a promotion of collective action that proclaims that the answers to Africa's challenges lie in the continent's own ingenuity, in the millennial capacity of nations to transform adversity into inventiveness, to turn their historical grievances into the breeding ground for their rebirth.
Morocco thus presents itself as a driver of national and continental projects, anchored in solidarity, action and innovation, through investments in renewable energy, infrastructure modernisation, human development and ambitious climate action.
This vision finds its operational expression in a South-South and triangular cooperation architecture that is today a true ‘success story’, which has distinguished itself from traditional cooperation paradigms and has resulted in more than a thousand bilateral agreements and more than thirty royal visits to sister and friendly countries on the continent.
These royal visits have not only strengthened fraternal relations with these countries, but have also opened up a new path of pragmatic economic integration, mobilising key sectors of sustainable development rooted in African realities.
Several flagship initiatives illustrate His Majesty King Mohammed VI's vision of a united, resilient Africa in control of its own destiny, including:
- The Royal Initiative for Sahel countries' access to the Atlantic goes far beyond geographical opening. It embodies an economic diplomacy of action, geared towards connectivity, diversification and regional integration. By opening up new avenues of access to global markets, it creates an African space for exchange, prosperity and shared stability.
- The Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline is not just an energy project: it is an organic link between the extremes of the continent. This project illustrates a vision of African integration based on solidarity, energy security and harnessing Africa's collective potential.
- Food security, made a strategic priority with the African Agriculture Adaptation Initiative (Triple A), launched during COP22 in Marrakesh, reflects this ambition. It transforms African agricultural systems to make them more resilient to climate crises, while promoting innovation, training and the valorisation of local resources. In this way, food sovereignty becomes a lever for peace, security and sustainable human development.
At the same time, the Kingdom is weaving a network of skills transfer that honours the collective intelligence of the South. Through the training of African cadres in Moroccan institutions, the deployment of Moroccan experts to African national projects and the creation of technical and scientific partnerships, Morocco is working towards sustainable investment in African human capital.
This approach is based on the conviction that knowledge, the sharing of experiences and solidarity are the most powerful levers for building a sovereign, innovative and forward-looking Africa.
Furthermore, when the Kingdom advocates for the blue economy, it does so from the epicentre of a continental mobilisation of which it is the architect. This commitment has been demonstrated by the unifying role that the Kingdom of Morocco has assumed on the African continent through concrete initiatives in favour of a common approach to the oceans. This has resulted, in particular, in the African intergovernmental meeting held in Tangier in June 2024, prior to the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) held in Nice.
This momentum was consolidated with the African Ocean Summit, co-chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa and President Emmanuel Macron, which enshrined the strategic importance of the oceans for sustainable development and climate resilience on the African continent.
By bringing together African positions in Tangier before taking them to Nice, Morocco illustrates its founding doctrine: it is not enough to speak for Africa, Africa must be allowed to speak with one voice.
Thus, the Kingdom's diplomatic action is not a mere symbolic extension, but a strategic pillar of its development and international projection.
It shows that it is not content with merely adhering to the principles of the United Nations: it translates them into concrete initiatives and sustainable programmes in favour of African and developing countries.
Another example worth highlighting is that when the Kingdom defends the role of middle-income countries, it advocates for the recognition of a reality experienced by millions of human beings. When it succeeds in having argan recognised as part of the world's heritage, it affirms the dignity of traditional knowledge in the face of cultural ‘homogenisation’. In this way, the Kingdom illustrates how multilateralism must always be the workshop in which international justice is forged.
Pillar 2: Human rights as the basis of universal dignity:
Moroccan diplomacy is based on a deep conviction: human rights are the foundation of any society that aspires to durability and cohesion. This truth, inscribed in the heart of Royal Wisdom and enshrined in the 2011 Constitution, makes human rights a strategic necessity and a collective imperative.
This consistency is deployed in Africa through a multidimensional human rights diplomacy that combines humanitarian action, institutional cooperation, knowledge sharing, the promotion of spiritual dialogue and a commitment to security.
Under the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, defender of the African Union on migration issues, Morocco has built since 2013 one of the most progressive migration policies in Africa, breaking with the logic of security to adopt a humanitarian, solidarity-based and inclusive approach.
More than 50,000 African migrants obtained legal status during the 2014 and 2017 regularisation campaigns, guaranteeing them access to health, education and work.
The African Migration Observatory, created in Rabat in 2018 under the auspices of the AU, institutionalises this vision of concerted and human rights-friendly management, accompanied by integration programmes covering language learning, professional integration and cultural awareness.
Morocco, a continental reference thanks to the Equity and Reconciliation Chamber (IER), has made transitional justice an instrument of South-South cooperation. The National Human Rights Council has established partnerships with institutions in Mali, Senegal, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire and Mauritania, enabling the transfer of methodologies, investigative tools and redress procedures, accompanied by bilateral agreements on judicial, police and legal assistance to combat human trafficking, corruption and organised crime.
Morocco, a pole of stability and religious moderation, trains hundreds of African religious leaders from Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger, Ivory Coast, Chad and Guinea each year in a moderate Islam that respects human rights.
This spiritual diplomacy has resulted in religious cooperation agreements with several African countries and notable leadership at the United Nations: in July 2019, the Kingdom promoted the historic General Assembly resolution, the first of its kind on hate speech, followed by the resolution proclaiming 18 June as the ‘International Day Against Hate Speech’ and, subsequently, resolutions against the burning of the Quran. This continental example permeates Moroccan diplomatic discourse on the international stage.
The resolution on the role of women in diplomacy and mediation, adopted in Geneva, as well as the initiative for the recognition of traditional knowledge, embodied in World Argan Day, are based on the same conviction: human rights are not limited to their legal dimension, but are rooted in the cultural and environmental heritage of peoples. Morocco is thus forging an ethic of coherence in which its multidimensional African commitment (humanitarian, institutional, educational, spiritual and security) transforms local action into a universal norm.
Pillar 3: Peace and security as a condition for the development of nations:
Moroccan diplomacy in the field of peace and security is distinguished by its willingness to address security challenges in their entirety. It recognises that terrorism, transnational trafficking, armed conflicts, humanitarian crises and environmental degradation are not isolated phenomena, but interconnected manifestations of deep-rooted fragilities.
This systemic approach has led the Kingdom to redefine the very concept of security, moving away from an exclusively military logic to broaden it to include food, energy, climate and human dimensions.
For how can we talk about security to those who have nothing to eat?
How can we promise stability to those who are driven from their ancestral lands by drought?
True security is built on the restoration of everyday dignity.
Whenever there has been a crisis, Morocco has been there. Since 1960, the Kingdom has established itself as one of the first African countries to participate in peace operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, thus inscribing its name in the history of international peacekeeping. Since then, our commitment has never wavered, with deployments in Angola, Somalia, Côte d'Ivoire, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Central African Republic and Somalia.
Every Moroccan blue helmet deployed carries with it the legacy of the Glorious Green March: the conviction that peaceful solutions always prevail over force.
Our commitment to peace has a human cost. Moroccan soldiers have sacrificed their lives. These men and women in uniform have proudly defended the values of our Kingdom: courage, solidarity and dedication to the cause of peace.Morocco is not just a country that provides blue helmets. Our country holds positions of responsibility at the highest levels of the UN chain of command and in the international peace architecture.
Several Moroccan personalities embody this experience in the service of peace: Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General in Syria and later in the Central African Republic, attests to the international recognition of Morocco's expertise in mediation and peacebuilding.
Morocco's chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission's (PBC) Central African Republic Configuration illustrates the Kingdom's strong commitment to post-conflict stabilisation and recovery in Africa. This mandate reflects the Moroccan vision, which conceives peacebuilding as a holistic process requiring sustained mobilisation in the service of national reconciliation and reconstruction.
This integrated approach finds its clearest example in the International Investment Conference dedicated to financing the Central African Republic's National Development Plan (PND) 2024-2028, organised in Casablanca in September 2025 at the request of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. This conference made it possible to mobilise $9 billion for the country's development.
Bolstered by this experience and these tangible results, Morocco is seeking the presidency of the PBC in 2026, an essential body within the United Nations architecture. The Kingdom's access to this presidency would enable it to bring an authentic African perspective and an endogenous understanding of the continent's peace and security dynamics. It would thus be an opportunity for Africa to see its priorities better reflected in the UN's peacebuilding strategies.
This ambition to embody an authentic African voice in international decision-making forums is also manifested through Morocco's commitment to the United Nations Security Council. A voice that articulates the continent's concerns with the force of lived experience, the authority of concrete commitment, and the credibility of one who is not content to lament crises but acts to prevent them.
Afterlife these multilateral forums, this philosophy of action translates into concrete regional cooperation initiatives. Morocco has thus demonstrated its ability to catalyse dialogue through the Mano River Basin Initiative in West Africa, where our country has facilitated reconciliation between neighbouring states by creating spaces of trust and lasting collaboration.
Following this same logic, the Sahel-Saharan region has naturally become a fundamental priority of Moroccan foreign policy. This is due to the lucid recognition of a geographical and historical truth: the stability of the Kingdom is organically linked to that of its Sahelian neighbours.
This is how Morocco's contribution to international peace and security takes shape: a diplomacy that, thanks to its African roots and holistic vision, firmly believes that lasting peace is built stone by stone, with the patience of reconciliation, the audacity of cooperation and the exigency of solidarity.
Morocco has a deep conviction: peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice, dignity and opportunities for all. It is this conviction that drives every blue helmet deployed, every mediation initiative undertaken, every development project supported. It is this conviction that makes the Kingdom a credible partner and an indispensable player for peace in Africa and the world.
A diplomacy rooted in the past: a vision oriented towards the future
At the end of this overview of the three pillars of Moroccan diplomacy, one constant stands out: the consistency between the principles proclaimed and the actions taken. This demand for measurable results reflects a strategic vision forged under the aegis of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, for whom diplomacy remains an instrument of real transformation.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Glorious Green March, crowned by Security Council Resolution 2797, sheds a unique light on this trajectory: profound historical changes are born of the ability to unite wills around a project that transcends short-term calculations.
This diplomacy draws its strength from several different sources: the antiquity of a kingdom with millennial roots; its geographical location, which naturally makes it a bridge between continents; its proven ability to combine fidelity to its heritage with adaptation to contemporary demands; and its historical experience, which has made plurality a source of wealth rather than an obstacle.
Moroccan diplomacy proposes methodical dialogue over fruitless confrontation, construction over unilateral dictates, and mutual trust over reflexes of mistrust. In this sense, it embodies one of the possible paths to a renewed multilateralism, whose effectiveness is verified by its actual capacity to improve the destiny of nations. A multilateralism that recognises developing countries as co-architects of a more equitable world order.
Ultimately, Moroccan diplomacy, as developed under the enlightened reign of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, is based on a philosophy of coordinated action: that of choosing trust over mistrust, cooperation over isolation, sustainability over opportunism, and shared dignity over domination.
A diplomacy that does not revel in achievements, but builds the future, that no longer waits for events to unfold, but anticipates and shapes them at the national, continental and international levels.
Thank you very much.