Morocco Reaffirms Commitment to New Global Dynamic for Sustainable Development

Marrakech – Head of government Saad Dine El Otmani reaffirmed, on Wednesday in Marrakech, Morocco’s commitment to the new global dynamic aimed at laying the foundations for sustainable development.

El Otmani, who was speaking at the opening of the 5th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), said that the 2011 Constitution enshrined sustainable development as a right for all citizens, highlighting the various policy and institutional reforms, national strategies in this area as well as the structuring programs adopted by Morocco for the promotion of renewable energies, energy efficiency, water saving and the sustainable management of solid and liquid waste.

The government chief also noted that the Forum aims to explore how best to speed up the implementation of socio-economic development initiatives and environmental protection in the African continent, in accordance with the UN Development Agenda 2030 and its 17 Goals, as well as the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 as a vision for the future that African countries are called upon to achieve in order to lay the foundations for the sustainable development desired for the peoples of the continent.

After stressing that the task of Africans in the next phase requires further cooperation, collaboration and mobilization, El Otmani said that ARFSD 5th session represents a new step towards strengthening partnership and cooperation among African States.

“We hope that this session will make it possible to analyze the current situation and propose solutions likely to achieve sustainable development for Africa and its peoples, in accordance with the spirit of the new UN Agenda 2030,” he said, calling for greater cooperation between the countries of the continent to ensure a better and more prosperous future where there will be no more people left behind, given the fact that the challenges are sometimes multiple and complex.

Held under the high patronage of HM King Mohammed VI and co-organized by Morocco and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa-ECA, ARFSD 5th session, which will run until 18 April, is bringing together several African ministers and senior officials in charge of environment and sustainable development, decision-makers and experts representing governments and intergovernmental organizations, the private sector and civil society.