Addis Ababa – Morocco’s important role in countering the effects of climate change was highlighted, on Friday in Addis Ababa, at the 8th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa, held at the headquarters of the African Union.

During the closing session of this Conference, the Moroccan delegation, chaired by Ambassador Mohammed Arrouchi, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the AU and the UNECA, underscored the initiatives of HM King Mohammed VI during the African Summit for Action at the COP 22 in Marrakesh, including the three initiatives carried out in the Sahel, the Chad Basin and the Congo Basin.

Under the theme “Intensifying Climate Action for a Resilient Africa – A Race We Can and Must Win”, this conference was marked by the participation of African Union Member States, members of the United Nations.

This Conference, initiated by the African Union Commission, the UNECA and the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the Government of Ethiopia and the Pan-African Alliance for Climate Justice, is taking place as part of the UN Climate Change Summit slated on Sept. 23 in New York, at the initiative of the UN Secretary-General.

The Moroccan delegation presented at this conference the conclusions of the 5th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, held last April in Marrakesh, as well as the broad lines of the Marrakesh Statement issued following this regional forum.

Progress in achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and of the 2063 Agenda, which constitute the continent’s collective regional contributions to the upcoming New York Summit, were recalled on this occasion.