The works of the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Atlantic African States Process (AASP) concluded, on July 12 in Rabat, with the adoption of the Rabat Declaration II, which highlights the political commitment of member countries to implementing a partnership focused on strengthening cooperation and integration ties between African countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean to consolidate peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
According to the Declaration, the ministers participating in this ministerial meeting adopted the partnership’s Action Programme, which aims to “articulate in the form of programmatic objectives the vision of a flexible, progressive and mutually supportive African-Atlantic partnership.”
The ministers also stressed the importance of the Action Program’s priorities in supporting integration and co-development in the region.
This Action Plan includes recommendations for collective action on three strategic priorities, which are political and security dialogue on countering terrorism, transnational organized crime, maritime piracy, and illegal migration, the blue economy, maritime connectivity, and energy, and sustainable development and the protection and conservation of the marine environment.
In this Declaration, the Ministers praised the participatory and inclusive approach of consultations on the Action Program, coordinated by the Permanent Secretariat, commending the commitment of the Focal Points to this consultation process, notably during their meetings held in Rabat on March 7 and 8, and on July 11.
The ministers also stressed the importance of reviewing the Action’s Program as required and in light of the evolving cooperation at the African-Atlantic region’s level and the international one, affirming that the Ministerial Meeting is tasked with guiding the review of the Action’s Program as required.
Ministers participating in this meeting further noted the importance of establishing synergies and partnerships with other cooperation initiatives and processes in the southern and northern Atlantic, including the US initiative on strengthening cooperation in the Atlantic, to maximize the beneficial impact of cooperation on stability and prosperity in the region.
The ministers also called on the Permanent Secretariat and the Focal Points to start consultations for the drafting of the Action Plans of the three Thematic Groups, led by Nigeria, Cape Verde, and Gabon, which must include concrete actions to implement this partnership.
In addition, the ministers emphasized the importance of coordination at the national and regional levels, encouraging this partnership’s member countries to establish national coordination mechanisms to facilitate its implementation.
AASP’s upcoming ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in New York in September on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The initiative to launch a ministerial meeting of the AASP is a consecration of His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s vision to make the Atlantic African region an area of shared peace, stability, and prosperity.
The first ministerial meeting, held in Rabat on June 8, 2022, adopted the Rabat Declaration I, which stressed the political commitment of Atlantic African countries to implement their partnership to strengthen cooperation and integration ties between African countries bordering the Atlantic.
The third ministerial meeting of the Atlantic African States Process (AASP) saw the participation of 21 African countries bordering the Atlantic to consolidate the political momentum of this innovative African partnership.
