Why we want to join ECOWAS – Morocco

Mr. Mustapha El Khalfi, the Spokesman for the Moroccan
government and Parliament, says the country’s interest in joining
ECOWAS stems from its desire to build a strong South-South
partnership.

Khalfi disclosed this on Thursday while briefing participants of
the maiden News Directors Forum of the Atlantic Federation of
African Press Agencies in Rabat.

Asked by the News Agency of Nigeria participant why Morocco,
located in North Africa, would apply to join ECOWAS, he said: “It
reflects the vision of His Majesty, the King, to build strong
South-South partnership and to bring our efforts together to deal
with economic and social challenges.’’

He described the move as “a project still ongoing within the
institutions’’, stressing that the vision behind the move was to
“enhance our capacities to deal with economic and social challenges
of the 21st century.”

NAN recalls that Morocco’s applied to join ECOWAS came after it
re-joined the African Union in January 2017.

The country had left the continental body in 1984 following AU’s
recognition of Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco regards as
part of its historic region.

The West African leaders, at the 51st summit held in June 2017
in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, had agreed in principle to Rabat’s
request to join the sub-regional grouping.

They, however, requested the ECOWAS Commission to consider the
implications of such a decision pursuant to the provisions of the
Revised ECOWAS Treaty and submit their findings to the 52nd
session.

Morocco’s efforts to join ECOWAS included 23 royal visits to 11
countries in West Africa by King Mohammed VI, with the signing of
hundreds of investment contracts.

Morocco said these efforts had given a strong impetus to its
bilateral cooperation with the sub-region.

ECOWAS comprises 15 West African Nations but none shares a
border with the North African country.

Meanwhile, Rabat drew criticisms from diplomatic veterans,
activists and lawyers, who argued that the economic implication of
Morocco’s admission would be enormous.

They believe that Morocco’s admission into ECOWAS would erode
Nigeria’s diplomatic influence not only in the sub-region but also
in the international community.

A study on the impact of Morocco’s membership was carried out
and the outcome was submitted to the West African leaders at the
52nd summit in Abuja during which they failed to reach a conclusion
after a long closed-door session.

In a communiqué adopted at the end of the summit, they instead
asked a committee of presidents of Togo, Cote d’ivoire, Ghana,
Guinea and Nigeria to supervise the thorough study of the
implications of granting Morocco’s request.

(NAN)