BY: MOHAMED ALMOU
The Head of Government, Mrs. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, representing His Majesty King Mohammed VI at the 3rd Russia-Africa Summit today, Thursday, in Moscow, affirmed that His Majesty the King has always made Africa a top priority in the Kingdom of Morocco’s foreign policy.
In a speech delivered during the plenary session of the summit, Mrs. Mansouri highlighted that this Royal conviction is reflected in structured initiatives of unprecedented scope. These include the African Atlantic States Initiative, the Royal Initiative to enhance access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean—which aims to unlock the region’s potential through modern infrastructure—and the Nigeria-Moroccan African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, which consolidates integration, shared development, and stability across the entire West African region.
In this context, the Head of Government emphasized that His Majesty King Mohammed VI remains convinced that Africa needs all its international partners. She noted that every format of cooperation brings added value, provided it fits into a comprehensive complementarity, rests on mutual respect between the continent’s nations and their partners, and aims for effective cooperation and concrete action.
Mrs. Mansouri pointed out that “the Russia-Africa partnership has reached a new stage, transitioning from planning to action, thereby enabling our platform to unleash its full potential.” She highlighted that the action plans adopted in Sochi and St. Petersburg laid the foundations for this path.
She added, “Today, these plans must also be adapted to the priorities of the African continent, notably food security, energy security, industrialization, and technology transfer,” stressing the importance of focusing the Russia-Africa partnership’s efforts on these pillars in the coming years.
She noted that Morocco, in line with the vision of His Majesty the King, remains committed to this partnership and reaffirms, through this summit, its determination to facilitate the launch of concrete and innovative areas of cooperation. She added that the Kingdom “stands ready to support this initiative with all the expertise it has accumulated, within the framework of the shared values that govern our relations.”
She continued: “Is there still a need to emphasize that Africa is not alone in needing the rest of the world, but that the rest of the world also increasingly needs Africa?” She observed that the African continent derives its strength from its natural resources, human capital, and geographical location, as well as its rich historical, cultural, and political heritage, granting it a growing role.
Mrs. Mansouri recalled that this summit—coming seven years after the Sochi Summit and three years after the St. Petersburg Summit—marks a pivotal milestone for the Russia-Africa partnership. The partnership has already achieved significant milestones, including institutionalizing meetings, consolidating political dialogue, adopting action plans, and launching cooperation projects in food security, energy, infrastructure, health, education, training, and technology transfer, enabling trade exchanges between Russia and the African continent to exceed the $27.7 billion threshold in 2025.
The Head of Government underscored that “this third summit is not merely an opportunity to commend an honorable outcome, but above all, an occasion to define the next steps.” She pointed out the importance of emphasizing that the more solidified the institutional framework of the partnership becomes, the stronger the aspirations of African nations grow, particularly regarding food security, energy, development, and economic sovereignty.
Speaking on relations between Morocco and Russia, the Head of Government highlighted that the bonds of friendship between the two countries span centuries and have significantly strengthened since the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership in 2002, followed by the Deepened Strategic Partnership during the Royal visit to Moscow in 2016.
She noted in this context that the Kingdom currently positions itself among Russia’s top three economic partners in Africa, recalling that bilateral trade reached $630 million in 2025, while Moroccan exports rose by 18 percent. Furthermore, more than 7,000 Moroccan students pursued their studies in Russia during the 2024–2025 academic year.
In this regard, Mrs. Mansouri stated: “Despite a complex geopolitical context, we can express satisfaction with the continuation of our trade exchanges at significant levels.”
Furthermore, Mrs. Mansouri indicated that there are other cooperation projects, particularly in energy, science, and technology, that warrant further exploration. She explained that this shared determination to deepen “our political dialogue and explore new horizons for cooperation was demonstrated by the recent creation of a working committee between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of our two countries, which held its first meeting in September 2026.”
