On Monday, June 9, His Majesty King Mohammed VI addressed a message to the participants of the “Africa for the Ocean” Summit. Held in Nice alongside the UNOC3, this event is co-chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, representing His Majesty the King, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Morocco is advocating for a strategic reassessment of Africa’s maritime role, structured around three main pillars: blue growth; enhanced South-South cooperation and regional integration around ocean spaces; and maritime effectiveness through Atlantic synergies, affirmed HM King Mohammed VI in his message, read by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa. The Sovereign stressed that the blue economy is not an ecological luxury, but rather a strategic necessity.
“Sustainable aquaculture, renewable offshore energy, port industries, marine biotechnology, responsible coastal tourism… All these sectors have a future, provided they are structured, interconnected, designed as value chains, and backed by substantial investments and appropriate standards,” HM the King emphasized, noting that this is the purpose of the national strategy initiated and implemented by Morocco as a driver of growth, social inclusion, and human development.
HM the King recalled the structuring projects undertaken by the Kingdom, particularly the redesign of the national port landscape, such as the major container port of Tanger Med and the upcoming Nador West-Med and Dakhla Atlantic ports, supported by a robust logistical and industrial ecosystem.
Regarding the second pillar—strengthened South-South cooperation and regional integration around ocean spaces—the Sovereign underlined that the effort must be collective, as the challenge is not just national but continental.
“Sharing an ocean is not enough. We must also think it together, manage it together, and protect it together,” said HM the King, adding that “only a coordinated African approach can optimize maritime value chains, secure trade routes, and capture a fairer share of global ocean wealth.”
Africa, therefore, must be fully involved in the protection of marine biodiversity, genetic resources, and marine protected areas, the Sovereign continued. He stressed that the Continent must equip itself with maritime security mechanisms tailored to its needs and must now speak with one voice on the global ocean stage.
On maritime effectiveness through Atlantic synergies, HM the King noted that Africa’s geopolitical dynamic must not be hindered by geographic inertia or the burdens of the past, reminding that Africa’s Atlantic coast has long been overlooked, despite its immense potential for opening up, transit, and projection for the Continent.
“It is in this spirit that We launched the Initiative of the African Atlantic States, aimed at making this coastline a zone for strategic dialogue, collective security, mobility, and economic integration, endowed with an unprecedented, collegial, mobilizing, and pragmatic governance,” explained the Sovereign. He affirmed that the Royal Vision of an Atlantic Africa that values this ocean includes not only coastal countries, but also brotherly Sahel nations, which must be offered a structured and reliable maritime outlet.
“In this same spirit of solidarity and shared prosperity, We have also initiated the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline project as a corridor for energy interconnection and a driver of new geoeconomic opportunities in West Africa,” added HM the King.
After highlighting both the richness and vulnerability of Africa’s seas and oceans, the Sovereign stressed that the environment is a key pillar of ocean governance—but not its only facet.
“The ocean represents our food sovereignty, our climate resilience, our energy security, and our territorial cohesion,” HM the King stated in his message, noting that the ocean “reflects who we are, what we consume, what we exploit, and ultimately, what we will bequeath.”
The ocean is and will remain “a common bond and shared horizon that we must all protect and shape into a space of peace, stability, and development,” the Sovereign insisted, asserting that Africa—at its strongest when speaking with one voice—is at the heart of this ambitious endeavor.
With 3,500 kilometers of coastline and 1.2 million square kilometers of maritime areas, Morocco is fully committed, with energy and determination, to doing its part in this collective effort, concluded HM King Mohammed VI.
