The Moroccan embassy in Australia took part in the African Cultural Dinner last Saturday, held on the outskirts of Sydney. The kingdom was the guest of honor at this annual festival of African cultures.

A statement from the Moroccan Embassy in Australia explained that this event, which coincides with the festivities marking Throne Day, was marked by the presence of Australian officials and parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, and members of the Moroccan and African communities residing in Sydney.

Morocco Guest of Honor at the African Cultural Dinner in Australia

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of the Kingdom in Australia, Karim Medrek, delivered a plea for the African continent, highlighting its enormous potential and the democratic transformations it undergone during the last 54 years, stressing that Africa, “like many parts of the world, faces security challenges due to terrorism and extremism.”

On the economic front, the diplomat said that Africa is the continent of investment opportunities and represents the future of the world economy par excellence, notably due to the diversification and abundance of its natural resources. Medrek also noted that two-thirds of its countries have witnessed a steady pace of development over the last ten years through sound economic policies, control of the fiscal deficit, and by maintaining inflation at reasonable levels.

Morocco Guest of Honor at the African Cultural Dinner in Australia

Despite ongoing efforts and recent achievements, the ambassador stressed that Africa still needs to strengthen its cooperation with its partners to continue addressing some of its challenges, including food insecurity, endemic poverty, diseased mainly the AIDS epidemic, inequality, and environmental degradation.

In this context, the Moroccan diplomat urged Australia to continue strengthening its relations with Africa in key sectors such as infrastructure and human resources development, to help consolidate of peace and stability in the continent, and to increase the number of scholarships for African student researchers in Australian universities and institutes.

Merdek also advocated broadening the scope of cooperation far beyond the mining sector, which remains the most important sector of cooperation between the two continents, stressing that its contribution can not be underestimated in recent years through various technical support and capacity building projects for African youth.

Source:MoroccoWorldNews