Speaking at a panel held as part of the second MD Sahara Forum organized in Dakhla under the theme “Morocco in Africa, a Royal choice for a global and integrated continent,” El Hafidi highlighted the enormous resources that African countries have, especially in energy and water, noting that the inability of Africa to develop this wealth hinders the development of the continent.
He noted that Africa has more than 12% of the world’s oil reserves, more than 8% of natural gas and more than 6% of coal, calling for transforming these fossil energy resources into electricity, thermal energy and basic infrastructure.
For his part, the Managing Director of Bank of Africa, Brahim Benjelloun Touimi, commended Morocco’s extremely visionary choices for Africa which is “our present and our future”, calling for a “reasoned Afroptimism” to better exploit the five forms of capital available in Africa (natural, intangible, environmental, human and social).
In this perspective, he called for training, empowerment, monitoring and strengthening the presence of economic actors on the continent to ensure better implementation and optimal management of resources.
For his part, the Director General of the Caisse de Depot et de Gestion – CDG (Deposit and Management Fund) Khalid Safir noted that Africa is a continent that emerges and places economic development at the top of its priorities, adding that by its diversity and its human and natural resources, the continent has considerable assets to achieve inclusive growth and eradicate poverty.
He also emphasized the need to transform this potential into wealth, through an integrated and comprehensive policy approach and the efficiency of means, in order to accelerate the reconstruction in a logic of South-South partnership, to catch up and strengthen intraregional trade.
