Morocco has denied reports that it has engaged in official or unofficial contact with the “self-proclaimed republic of Donesk”, an entity not recognized by either the Kingdom or the United Nations. “Morocco denies such information”, underlines the Moroccan embassy in kyiv in a clarification, following information conveyed by the media evoking contacts between Morocco and the “self-proclaimed republic of Donesk”. “This entity is recognized neither by our country nor by the United Nations”, reiterates the embassy. Therefore, “for the Moroccan state there can be no official or unofficial contact with an entity of this nature”, supports the development.
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Sovereign funds, a real catalyst for the emergence of Africa
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Sovereign and strategic funds can be a real catalyst for a sustainable emergence of the African continent, underlined recently the ambassador and director general of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Mohamed Methqal. “Our continent needs to accelerate its emergence. And for that, investment, co-investment and co-development in priority projects and sectors in African countries are becoming an imperative,” said Mr. Methqal who spoke at the closing of the work of the African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) held on 20 and 21 June. In this respect, the role of sovereign and strategic funds in this dynamic with their leverage effect becomes essential and must also be complementary to other traditional sources of capital which already contribute to the financing of African development, he continued. In addition, reports the MAP, sovereign and strategic funds can be a locomotive for the local private sectors by pulling them and associating them in the implementation of local or regional projects and in which their financial resources will be invested. it belongs. Mr. Methqal thus welcomed the initiatives launched at the end of the Forum, convinced that this platform will contribute to strengthening South-South partnerships, to developing co-investment in African countries as well as in transformative regional projects and to accelerate regional economic integration. Furthermore, he called on economic and financial players in Morocco and fellow African countries as well as international economic and financial players to pursue their commitments in the service of African emergence, by putting in place solutions to meet the continent’s challenges on the basis of its strengths while innovating according to its specificities, priorities and local realities. “For this, we must innovate, join our efforts collectively and put in place inclusive and sustainable growth models for our continent, in a logic of coherence, complementarity, responsibility and solidarity”, noted the DG of the AMCI. In this wake, he noted that the mobilization must be “global and widened”, by associating alongside governments, the business world and financial actors, but also civil society, cities and regions, young people and women for sustainable and human development of the African continent. “The potential for cooperation between African countries is truly massive and the possibilities exist without limit. African sovereign and strategic funds and their international partnerships must have a pioneering and catalytic role in this African revolution”, he raised. Marked by a Royal message addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the participants, and which was read by the Deputy Minister in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, this Forum was an opportunity for leaders, senior managers of sovereign funds , as well as representatives of States and the private sector from various countries in Africa and elsewhere, to discuss the opportunities offered by Africa. Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty the King, this Forum brought together a dozen African sovereign wealth funds, including Ithmar Capital, to create a first network of its kind on the continent, ASIF, whose main objective is to federate its members around challenges facing African economies in financing and mobilizing investment. Created in 2011, Ithmar is a strategic investment fund whose primary purpose is to support Morocco’s economic development. A multi-sector fund, Ithmar aims to promote investment in all national strategic sectors by developing structuring and transformational projects with a strong impact.
Call on Tunis to intensify efforts to fight terrorism and extremism
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Several countries, including Morocco, called for intensifying efforts to fight terrorism, extremism, organized crime and hate speech, during a regional conference organized in Tunisia on “The fight once morest terrorism and Violent Extremism: Towards a Coordinated Approach to Human Rights in the Southern Mediterranean Region”. At the end of the conference, organized on 22 and 23 June within the framework of the joint program between the European Union and the Council of Europe to strengthen regional co-operation in the fields of human rights, the rule of law and democracy, the participants adopted “an integrated approach to the protection of human rights in the fight once morest terrorism, violent extremism, organized crime and hate speech”. In this regard, they stressed the importance of promoting and protecting human rights by fighting once morest organized crime, corruption, human trafficking, violence once morest women, girls and children, as well as money laundering which contributes directly or indirectly to the financing of terrorism. Participants also called for the integration of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards into the fight once morest money laundering and terrorist financing and into programs and efforts to counter terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organized crime. They also stressed the need to review and develop the legislative and institutional frameworks in the Mediterranean countries, in the light of international standards for the fight once morest money laundering and the financing of terrorism, to apply the sanctions in force and to prevent the abusive use of non-profit organizations in the countries of the South in the financing of terrorism. They therefore recommended that preventive measures be taken to protect those organizations that might be misused in such crimes, and that objective standards and controls be established to ensure that efforts to combat terrorism, violent extremism and hate speech does not become a pretext to limit the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and to pluralism of media discourse. On the other hand, the speakers called for the strengthening of co-operation and co-ordination between the Council of Europe and the southern Mediterranean countries, by strengthening the implementation of the “Programme for the consolidation of regional co-operation in the human rights, rule of law and democracy in the Southern Mediterranean (South Programme)”, and taking measures to combat terrorism without imposing restrictions on civil society, recognizing that the absence of an international definition of terrorism and extremism presents a challenge to all actors in the face of this scourge. During this meeting, it was also proceeded to the adoption of “The approach of the rights of the child aimed at protecting children in the context of the fight once morest terrorism and violent extremism, in particular by respecting the obligations States under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its annexed protocols, the Geneva Conventions and their protocols and consider children as victims of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law”. In the same vein, the participants insisted on respecting the dignity of the child and prioritizing their best interests over any other consideration, calling for the situation of unaccompanied children to be taken into account, to meet their needs care and protection and to avoid their detention in camps, prisons or centres. They also pointed out the importance of taking the necessary measures to facilitate the child’s access to the right to family reunification and of considering family return as the best option for the child in all circumstances, including including when one or both parents are serving a prison sentence. This conference, organized in partnership with the National Commission for the Fight once morest Terrorism in Tunisia (CNLCT) and the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication in Tunisia (HAICA), aims to support the regional dynamic in the fight once morest violent extremism and its prevention. , thus laying the foundations for a regional training program for professionals in the field of the fight once morest terrorism, within the framework of the training program for human rights specialists of the Council of Europe. It also tends to set up training programs for the representatives of the CNLCT, the HAICA and the organization “No peace without justice”, as well as for representatives of Morocco, Egypt, Jordan , Lebanon, Libya, and experts and representatives of the Council of Europe. The conference was attended by Pilar Morales, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tunis and Coordinator of the Neighborhood Policy with the Southern Mediterranean, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the fight once morest terrorism and human rights Rights, as well as ambassadors of Council of Europe member states, representatives of southern Mediterranean countries and the representative of the League of Arab States in Tunisia.
120,000 festival-goers vibrated to the enchanting rhythms of Gnawa fusions
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Some 120,000 festival-goers vibrated to the enchanting rhythms of fusions, finding in four cities of the Kingdom the magic of the Gnaoua Festival, which is one of the most popular and appreciated events in the cultural landscape, indicated, on Saturday, the organizers of the Gnaoua Festival Tour, placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The four stages of the Festival, namely Essaouira, Marrakech, Casablanca and Rabat, met with success beyond expectations, they underlined in a press release closing this special edition. “The public responded with strength and joy, as did the artists, with a dialogue that was played on stage, every evening, during the 30 concerts of the Festival”, they added. According to the organizers, the Gnaoua maâlems have once once more proven the strength of their heritage and the success of the exchange, inviting musicians from all over the world to share, create a renewed dialogue and contribute to the enrichment of diversity. culture and human creativity. The Gnaoua Festival Tour was a real success with more than 150 artists, including 23 maâlems who performed during 30 colorful and emotional concerts, in addition to an exceptional artistic program thought out, created and carried out with passion by the two artistic directors. , the great maalem Abdeslam Alikane and the talented drummer Karim Ziad, the same source said. Moments of pure musical magic during fusions will remain in the annals, such as those tinged with jazz by Avishai Cohen Trio with saxophonist Emile Parisien and accordionist Vincent Peirani in fusion with the great Hamid El Kasri at the end of the tour in Rabat , enriched by the sweetness of Nabyla Maan, those charged with energy from the Trio Assala, or the Cubans of CimaFunk with the maâlems Khalid Sansi and Ismail Rahil. Recalling that in December 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which considers intangible cultural heritage as a crucible of cultural diversity and guarantor of sustainable development, granted the status of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in the Gnaoua, the press release specifies that “The Gnawa culture continues to gain in popularity and vitality, in Morocco and throughout the world”, affirming that the artists present during this exceptional tour, musicians and musicians from Morocco and the 15 invited countries, showed the power of cultural mixing when artistic encounters create bridges.
In addition, the musicians, who were present in force, enchanted the public and conquered the press through the performances of the two malemates, Asmaa Hamzaoui and the young Hind Ennaira, the Senegalese with the golden voice Kya Loum, the guardian of the temple of Moroccan song, Soukaina Fahsi, the bewitching Hindi Zahra, the virtuoso flautist Naïssam Jalal, the singer Fama Mbaye from Mauritania, the American drummer prodigy of Avishai Cohen Trio Roni Kaspi and the profound Nabyla Maan, a true trait of union between contemporary music and the Arab-Andalusian tradition. The organization of the Gnaoua Festival Tour confirms this in the wake of 22 successful editions of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival, thus taking up the challenge of crossing generations. After two years of stoppage due to Covid-19, the festival’s tour through 4 cities has once once more demonstrated the remarkable ability of the Gnaoua to federate and participate in the promotion of the values of openness, tolerance and share. And the same source recalls that the producer of the festival, Neïla Tazi, declared during the closing evening that the organizers have from the beginning chosen to approach this project as if it were an inexhaustible treasure. waiting to be discovered and conquered, that of “our popular culture and our youth”. The Gnaoua Festival Tour was also an opportunity to allow the new generation of Gnaoua artists to show the full extent of their talent, alongside big names in Tagnaouite, featuring the next generation of Gnaoua and young Maâlems, who have taken up the torch and have become the guarantors of sustainability.