Morocco and the Republic of Congo signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, in Rabat aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fields of environment and sustainable development.
The signing of a specific memorandum of cooperation between Morocco and the Republic of the Congo is part of the official working mission of the Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin and the Executive Secretary of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and the Congo Basin Blue Fund to Morocco, Arlette Soudan-Nonault, to take stock of the progress made in the operationalisation of the Congo Basin Climate Commission (CCBC) and the Congo Basin Blue Fund (CBBF), the preparations for the organisation of the donors’ round table and the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CCBC, and the participation of the CCBC in COP29.
Signed by the Moroccan Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, and Ms Soudan-Nonault, who is also Executive Secretary of the CCBC and the Congo Basin Blue Fund, the MoU aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in areas of common interest, notably environmental governance.
It also covers environmental and strategic assessment, combating them effects of climate change, in particular nationally determined contributions, resource management, biodiversity and the green and blue economy, liquid sanitation and integrated waste management.
In a statement to the press, Ms Benali said that this meeting marked an important stage in the operationalisation of the exchange of experiences and strategies between the two countries in the fields of the environment and sustainable development, particularly in the area of climate financing, with a view to attracting more funds to the
African continent and to Morocco and the Congo in particular.
She went on to say that the meeting was also an opportunity to work on various issues related to waste recycling and the blue and green economy, noting that these are important projects for the sustainable development of both countries.
Ms Benali also stressed that partnerships between African countries make it possible to draw up projects to strengthen the energy transition and their development paths.
For her part, Ms Soudan-Nonault confirmed that this memorandum will help to further strengthen cooperation with Morocco in the field of the environment and sustainable development, noting that it covers several areas of common interest, such as the fight against the effects of climate change, biodiversity and the green and blue economy.
This agreement represents the effective operationalisation of the work of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and marks a structuring stage in our joint work to prepare for COP29,” she said.
The CCBC is one of the three African climate commissions created at the 1st African Summit on Action for Continental Co-Emergence, on the initiative of King Mohammed VI, as part of COP22 in Marrakech.
MN/te/sf/lb/GIK/APA