Bourita: For King Mohammed VI, Atlantic Africa is a Geostrategic Heart

Morocco World

08-05-2025

Doha – Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, made an important statement at the 5th ministerial meeting of the African Atlantic States Process (AASP) in Praia, Cape Verde.
'For His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, Atlantic Africa cannot be a periphery of the global world. It is a geostrategic heart, a dynamic interface between continents, a matrix of innovation and resilience,' Bourita declared on Thursday.
'Our duty is to make it a reality, a visible, tangible and sustainable reality,' he added.
The Moroccan minister described the African Atlantic Partnership as both a strategic instrument and a political, economic, and human process. He noted that this partnership carries 'the ambition of an Africa that no longer suffers the winds of history, but chooses its direction and charts its course, with lucidity, confidence and unity.'
He praised the 'vivacity, coherence, constancy, and collective determination' of the participating countries to establish the African Atlantic space as 'a dynamic of action, solidarity, and co-prosperity.'
'The African Atlantic space is no longer a geographical abstraction. It is now a strategic, endogenous and assumed reality,' Bourita stated, insisting it is a 'reality carried by a common conviction: that our future will be safer, more prosperous, and more sustainable if we build it together.'
The 'Royal Initiative' has given birth to an unprecedented Afro-African partnership that embodies the essence of shared responsibility, he argued.
It has laid the foundations for a new paradigm of cooperation – both pragmatic in its approach and ambitious in its aims: sustainable development, maritime security, environmental protection, and combating transnational threats.
'Atlantic Africa is today at an inflection point. It is scrutinized, courted, but also faced with multiple, systemic and transversal threats,' Bourita continued. He called on African Atlantic states to make 'an audible, credible and operational voice' heard, as other geostrategic spaces organize themselves in Europe, America and Asia.
'This can be done by strengthening our transregional anchoring, expanding cooperation circles, and deepening our synergies,' the top diplomat concluded. 'It is not just a political ambition, but an imperative of sovereignty and development.'
From vision to reality
This Atlantic vision connects directly with Morocco's initiative launched in November 2023 to provide landlocked Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean through Moroccan infrastructure. The initiative addresses a key handicap of Sahelian economies – lack of sea access.
The ambitious project centers on the Dakhla Atlantique complex – currently under construction in Western Sahara. This port, covering 1,650 hectares, is designed as a gateway to the Sahel and is expected to be completed by late 2028.
Moroccan authorities plan to transform this infrastructure into a logistical hub connecting major West African ports (Abidjan, Lomé, Cotonou, Dakar) with those of Tangier and Casablanca.
A road corridor approximately 2,200 km long will connect this new port to Mali via Mauritania, with extensions to Ouagadougou, Niamey, and N'Djamena.
In April, Foreign Ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – members of the Sahel States Alliance (AES) – met with King Mohammed VI in Rabat to express their 'total adherence and commitment' to 'accelerate implementation' of the Atlantic Initiative.
Niger's Minister Bakary Yaou Sangaré stressed Morocco's crucial role during a period when ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and other international actors were putting pressure on the Sahel's transitional governments. 'At a time when they were about to declare war on us, Morocco expressed its solidarity with us,' he asserted.
Burkina Faso's Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré noted that his country is already working on technical and logistical aspects to implement the Atlantic proposal, stating the initiative isn't limited to physical sea access but marks the beginning of a fundamental economic transformation.
This active diplomacy is also a means for Morocco to gain the upper hand over its regional rival Algeria, a historical mediator in the Sahel, now at daggers drawn with the AES countries. The Sahelian bloc accused Algeria of interference and supporting destabilizing insurgent groups.
In early April, the three countries recalled their ambassadors to Algiers after Algeria allegedly shot down a Malian army drone.
In line with this dynamic, Marrakech hosted a ministerial coordination meeting dedicated to the Atlantic Initiative on December 23, 2023. Under the auspices of Bourita, this meeting brought together Sahelian ministers and a representative from Chad, marking a first concrete step toward implementing the ambitious Royal Vision.
During today's gathering, he noted that Morocco's empirical approach is reflected in key initiatives such as the Forum of Ministers of Justice (April 2024), the Presidents of Parliaments meeting (February 2025), and the Conference on Maritime Security and Counterterrorism (January 2025).
Through this initiative and its diplomatic actions, Morocco confirms its status as an emerging African power, working for an integrated, resilient, and sovereign Africa. Tags: Atlantic initiativeNasser Bourita