Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El-Otmani on Monday in New York decried the lack of adequate international aid and investments in Africa, saying that these obstacles were preventing African countries to reach their full potential.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Mr. El-Othami said: “We remain concerned at the precarious development situation in a large number of African countries due to the low level of public aid for development, the reduction in volume of foreign investments and the difficulties linked to access to international markets for their products.”
“Nevertheless, we salute the positive progress realised in Africa, thanks to proactive polices that have reinforced the democratic and macro-economic gains of African countries, creating adequate conditions for the best use of foreign investments and facilitating their integration into international trade.”
He called on the international community, more especially the larger economic blocs, to promote viable investments and trade in Africa, in order to boost growth and development.
The Moroccan minister also declared his country’s full support for the theme of this year’s 68th UN General Assembly – “The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage!” which aims to draw up an ambitious long-term sustainable development programme to succeed the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cycle.
Mr. El-Othmai noted that Morocco was on course to achieve some of the MDGs targets, but stressed the need for more international support to enable it to achieve the desired objectives.
He said the Post-2015 Agenda must therefore address in a very real way, the concerns of African countries as they relate to consolidating economic gains and development aspirations.
