Five countries formally announced their accession to the security initiative against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction at a Marrakech conference.
The announcement came at the end of the meeting, which was co-hosted by Morocco and the United States from January 31 to February 2.
Zambia, Ghana, Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Benin brought the number of African countries that are members of the Initiative to 11, a remarkable increase of about 80 percent. Other countries such as Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Nigeria have also expressed their willingness to join the Initiative in the near future.
In their speeches, several African countries took the opportunity to thank Morocco for its concrete and pragmatic contribution to strengthening South-South cooperation and developing African national technical, security and operational capacities to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Marrakech Conference was attended by 25 African countries representing different regions of the continent.
The initiative, launched in 2003, is a framework for multilateral cooperation.
It aims to combat the illicit transportation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and related materials.
HA/lb/as/APA