Sahel States have lauded King Mohammed VI’s initiative aiming to facilitate their access to the Atlantic Ocean, as a “highly important strategy” for co-development and prosperity in the region and as a move that will help the Sahel states diversify their sources of access to the Atlantic.

This came in a joint communiqué released following a coordination meeting on the operationalization of the royal initiative, held in New York on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly

The meeting gathered the Foreign Ministers of Mali Abdoulaye Diop, Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, Niger Bakary Yaou Sangaré and Chad Abderaman Koulamallah and their Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita.

The meeting provided an opportunity to convene on the necessary next steps, mainly to leverage “the human and financial resources required for the various phases” of implementation of the initiative.

The Sahel states welcomed the concrete projects proposed by Morocco as part of the Royal Initiative, which are “in line with the national development plans currently being implemented in each of the countries.”

The officials of the Sahel countries also commended the work done by the National Task Forces of Morocco, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad since their first meeting held in Rabat last June 5-6.

They welcomed in this vein the project proposals selected by the National Task Forces as part of the operationalization of this International Initiative, the joint communiqué said.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger highlighted the steps undertaken within the framework of the recently set-up Confederation of Sahel States. In line with the guidelines of the President of the Confederation, they underlined that the adhesion, involvement, and support of their countries to the operationalization of the International Initiative of King Mohammed VI will henceforth be carried out within the framework of the said Confederation.

“We would like to congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco on this initiative, and also for the solidarity shown towards our countries,” head of Malian diplomacy told the media after the coordination meeting, welcoming the action taken with Morocco “in a spirit of fraternity, solidarity and mutual respect.”

“Our alliance with Morocco is part of a political framework in which we work with mutual respect and consideration,” Abdoulaye Diop added.

The Malian official who welcomed the steps taken to operationalize the Royal Initiative said that the concerned countries are coordinating actions to involve all stakeholders in this initiative, in particular the various ministerial departments in charge of trade and infrastructure.

Mohammed VI launched the Initiative to promote access to the Atlantic Ocean for the Sahel States in a speech he delivered on the 48th anniversary of the Green March, celebrated on November 6, 2023.