On Wednesday, February 10, the Africa Center hosted a breakfast roundtable with H.E. Mbarka Bouaida, Minister-Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, who provided an update on political and security developments in North and West Africa.  

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham welcomed participants and introduced the speaker.

In her remarks, Bouaida outlined Morocco’s perspective on the ongoing instability, especially in Libya and in the Sahel. In particular, with regard to the crisis in Libya, in which Morocco has been hosting and facilitating talks between various parties, she stressed the importance for national domestic involvement in any negotiated political solution and underscored the need for increased bilateral, regional, and international cooperation on counterterrorism efforts. Bouiada also touched on her country’s bright economic prospects and suggested several avenues through which the country plans to bolster its role as a regional economic hub. Finally, Bouaida touched on the domestic political environment in Morocco and highlighted how internal regionalization can contribute to the continued consolidation of democracy.

Also in attendance and participating in the discussion was H.E. Rachad Bouhlal, Ambassador to the United States from the Kingdom of Morocco; Abderrahim Rahhaly, Deputy Chief of Mission from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco; the Honorable Bisa Williams, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (2013-2016); General William Ward, former Commander of US Africa Command.