Marrakech Conference Adopts by Acclamation Morocco-U.S. Joint Declaration of Proliferation Security Initiative on WMDs

The Declaration embraces an action plan under the co-chairmanship of Morocco and the United States, centered around three main axes: encouraging African countries endorsing the PSI to participate in future meetings of the initiative, promoting the organization of exercises and workshops for training and operational cooperation for new African members of the PSI, as well as joint action to encourage other African countries to endorse it through awareness-raising activities and the holding of regional and sub-regional meetings.

The Declaration also reaffirmed that one of the objectives of the Marrakech meeting and its follow-up process is to strengthen South-South cooperation as a framework for African countries to benefit from synergies at the sub-regional and regional levels.

In his opening speech at the Marrakech conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, emphasized the importance of the African dimension in international cooperation efforts to address new security challenges at global and regional levels.

The Marrakech Declaration welcomed the official announcement by five African countries of their accession to the PSI, namely Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Zambia, Togo, and Benin, bringing the number of African countries members of this initiative to 11.

With this accession, the Proliferation Security Initiative against WMD currently has 111 participating states.