In his remarks, Mr. André Gakwaya, journalist and Director of Rwanda News Agency has thus underlined the relevance and the foresight of the Moroccan Initiative of Autonomy as the one and only solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

For the record, the submission of the Moroccan Initiative for Autonomy in 2007 constitutes the basis of the ongoing momentum of the United Nations political process. In all of the resolutions it has adopted since 2007, the Security Council considers this initiative as "serious and credible".

The journalist expressed also his admiration for the efforts made by Morocco for the development of the region within the framework of the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces, launched by His Majesty the King in 2015. He thus stressed that this Model, buttressed by a financial package of 81 billion Dirhams, is underpinned by a holistic and an integrated approach.

Mr. Gakwaya noted that it is thanks to the economic takeoff that the Southern Provinces have embarked on that 10 African States have opened Consulates General in Laayoune and Dakhla in recognition of their role as regional economic hubs.

Mr. Gakwaya argued that there is an irreversible dynamic in favor of the assertion of the Morocanity of the Sahara in Africa, recalling that since 2004, 44 States have withdrawn their recognition of so-called “sadr”.

According to Mr. Gakwaya, decision 693 that was adopted at the 31st Summit of Heads of State and Government in 2018 “ended the cacophony” by reaffirming the exclusivity of the United Nations in the search for a definitive solution to the Question of the Moroccan Sahara.

On another topic, the speakers in this debate highlighted the important contribution of Morocco to the development and the integration of Africa, as well as the historical, the human and the economic ties between Morocco and its continent.

Thus, Mr. Evode Imena, former Minister of Mines of Rwanda, stressed that the return of Morocco to the African Union is “a very important step, both for Morocco and for the rest of Africa”.

Believing that the geographic position of Morocco makes of it a link between Africa and Europe, the former Minister stressed that thanks to Morocco's return to the African Union, “we can build a more diverse, but united, community”.

For his part, the President of the Association of former Rwandan students in Morocco, Mr. François Xavier Nshimiyina, recalled that Morocco’s contribution to the development of Africa did not start only after his return to the African Union in 2017.

He was joined on this by Mr. Gakwaya, who argued that Morocco has always made sure to share, in a spirit of solidarity, its experience with brotherly African countries in the key fields of health, education, and Sustainable Development.

It should be recalled that since 1999, Morocco has entered nearly 1000 bilateral cooperation agreements with other African States, guided by the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI for a solidarity-based and an active South-South cooperation.

In his analysis of the human links that connect Morocco to its Continent, Mr. Gakwaya noted the efforts made by Morocco within the framework of the National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, launched in 2014, in favor of migrants’ integration.

According to Mr. Gakwaya, who declared himself impressed by “the tolerance, the exchange, and the conviviality” which characterize the coexistence between religions in Morocco, these integration efforts find their inspiration in the plural and the open nature of the Kingdom.

This videoconference was held as part of the Sahara Debate, a citizen-run show intended to be an open, a democratic platform for dispassionate and a serene analysis on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara.