The Prime Minister of Niger Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine made a working visit to Morocco, seeking a strategic partnership with the North African kingdom. On Feb. 15 Zeine was received in Rabat by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, to whom he delivered a message from Niger’s military ruler Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani to King Mohammed VI.
On top of the discussions Zeine was the Moroccan King’s royal initiative to enable Sahel countries to access the Atlantic, which the King asserts will transform the economies of land-locked African countries and strengthen regional integration for shared peace and prosperity. Part of the project is a major new state-of-the-art port at Dakhla in the Western Sahara region. Although Morocco’s claim over the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara have been contested, Morocco has put forward an autonomy plan which is in the process of being approved at the United Nations. Already many countries are supporting the Moroccan position, including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are now in the process of forming a three-country confederation. The King’s Atlantic initiative has been applauded by the Sahel countries, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.
Zeine, who also serves a minister of economy and finances, was accompanied by a high-level delegation including the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, and other senior officials. Many of the senior officers who are now playing leading roles in the Sahel countries had attended the Royal Moroccan Military Academy.
