It has been just over seven years since Morocco regained its natural place within its family at the African Union, following a historic decision by His Majesty King Mohammed VI. In such a short time, the Kingdom has successfully established a unifying and federative approach, now embraced by the new President of the African Union Commission. His country, Djibouti, opened a consulate in Dakhla, in the Moroccan Sahara, on February 28, 2020.
"It is Africa that the Kingdom seeks to empower with leadership." This statement, made by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on January 31, 2017, in his speech marking Morocco's return to the African Union, continues to resonate in every action undertaken by Morocco within and beyond pan-African institutions.
Seven years after its return to its African institutional family—one it never truly left, as King Mohammed VI emphasized in his 2017 address to the AU—the Kingdom has demonstrated that it is a reliable partner for the continent. The Sovereign’s unifying vision continues to guide Morocco’s actions.
For this reason, Morocco welcomes the election of Djiboutian Ali Mahmoud Youssef as the head of the Commission of the pan-African organization. This friend of Morocco will undoubtedly steer the AU in the right direction.
One of the most revealing signs of the change within the Union since Morocco’s return is the absence of the Moroccan Sahara issue from the agenda of recent AU meetings. The pan-African organization has reaffirmed its commitment to focusing on urgent and priority issues for Africa, breaking away from being exploited as a platform for narrow agendas and the harmful political aims of some actors.
As in previous years, Morocco’s participation in this session of the Conference was marked by substantial and high-value contributions across meetings and high-level events covering multiple themes.
In this context, Morocco took part in the AU Peace and Security Council meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government on the situation in Sudan and the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. During this meeting, the PSC unanimously adopted Morocco’s proposal to observe a humanitarian truce in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan to facilitate unrestricted and non-discriminatory access to humanitarian aid.
Morocco also participated in the high-level meeting on health financing, during which the Kingdom announced a significant contribution to strengthening health security across the continent. Other Moroccan initiatives reaffirm its commitment to prioritizing actions that advance Africa’s development.
Ongoing Commitment
Since 2018, the African Union has designated His Majesty King Mohammed VI as the Leader on Migration and selected Rabat to host the African Migration Observatory.
Additionally, Royal initiatives related to climate issues, launched in 2016 during the African Action Summit, remain a "success story" and a clear benchmark for African countries as they collectively work to build an African model of climate resilience.
Furthermore, African countries have elected Morocco as a member of the Peace and Security Council for two terms (2018-2020 and 2022-2025). During these mandates, the Kingdom has chaired this crucial body three times and launched innovative, unprecedented, and concrete initiatives inspired by the Royal Vision, aimed at serving the vital interests of African citizens in terms of peace, security, and development.
In this regard, the Tangier Declaration, resulting from the Tangier Conference on the Promotion of Peace, Security, and Development, was unanimously endorsed by the AU Conference. It marked a pivotal moment in revitalizing the nexus approach of peace-security-development as a comprehensive, integrated, and relevant response to the continent's security challenges.
Moreover, this initiative has united efforts among all stakeholders, including AU member states, organs and financial institutions, regional economic communities, UN agencies, and civil society organizations.
Morocco has also implemented a specialized training program for AU electoral observers, aimed at promoting democratic processes across Africa.
Additionally, the Kingdom has ensured the presence of highly qualified professionals within various structures of the AU Commission, including the position of Director General of the AUC, a key managerial role within the institution, as well as other strategically significant positions. In another domain, Morocco has secured leadership and vice-presidency roles within key AU bodies.
For instance, Morocco has held the Presidency, at the ministerial level, of the Specialized Technical Committee on Economic Affairs and the Vice-Presidency of the Specialized Technical Committee on Public Service, Local Governments, Urban Development, and Decentralization. The Kingdom has also presided over the sub-committee on economic issues and held the Vice-Presidency of the sub-committee on environmental issues.
With its deep-rooted historical ties within Africa’s institutional framework—as one of its founding members—and its unwavering commitment to the continent’s noble causes, Morocco will continue to contribute constructively and significantly to joint African action. The Kingdom remains determined to help the AU strengthen administrative and financial governance while countering any attempts to hinder the reform momentum within the organization.
Morocco’s efforts within the AU are primarily aimed at realizing the Royal Vision of placing Africa’s noble causes and the vital interests of African citizens—particularly in peace, security, and development—at the heart of the pan-African agenda. Morocco is committed to empowering Africa to amplify its voice on the global stage.
The Kingdom remains steadfast in its commitment to a unified African action that serves Africa’s noble causes and the vital interests of its citizens. The February 2025 AU Summit addressed multiple pressing issues, including peace and security, continental integration, health security, and climate change, alongside the renewal of the leadership of the AU Commission.
With MAP
