Morocco has made South-South cooperation a key pillar of its economic and diplomatic strategy and a powerful driver for integrating African economies into the global market, said Omar Hejira, Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Trade, on Monday in Istanbul.
Speaking at the 41st Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hejira highlighted Morocco’s concrete initiatives under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to promote solidarity-based development and shared growth among partner nations.
Among these initiatives, he cited the Atlantic Initiative, which aims to provide Sahel countries with access to the Atlantic Ocean through Moroccan infrastructure, and the Nigeria-Morocco African Atlantic Gas Pipeline project, designed to strengthen energy connectivity and promote sustainable regional co-development.
The Moroccan official also emphasized the remarkable growth in trade exchanges between Morocco and OIC member states, which nearly doubled from $9.5 billion in 2020 to $18 billion in 2024, reflecting the Kingdom’s rising economic dynamism and strengthened cooperation within the Islamic world.
Hejira added that Morocco is determined to further enhance these exchanges under the 2026–2035 COMCEC Ten-Year Action Plan, through projects that promote inclusive trade, digital transformation, and sustainable investment.
He further explained that Morocco has developed a Foreign Trade Program for 2025–2027 in consultation with key economic stakeholders. This strategy, he said, aims to broaden the base of exporters by supporting 400 new companies per year, integrate very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs) into international value chains, and unlock the Kingdom’s export potential, with the ambition of creating nearly 76,000 direct jobs.
Through these efforts, Morocco reaffirms its vision of a pragmatic, solidarity-based, and forward-looking South-South cooperation, positioning the Kingdom as a proactive partner in building an integrated and resilient African and Islamic economic space.
