All Africa quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on how the African Union continues to treat Morocco as an outlier even though its King champions African solutions:
As Dr. Peter Pham noted in his op-ed in The Hill, “King Mohammed VI not only declared that ‘Morocco fully assumes its African vocation,’ but also affirmed that ‘South/South cooperation should be at the heart of the economic relationships’ between African countries.” Dr. Pham lists a number of projects already underway, across East and West Africa, in which small businesses, including farmers and fishermen, will benefit from stronger ties with Morocco.
The benefits of these relationships are clear. Dr. Pham writes, “The organic emergence within Africa of such solutions to Africa’s development challenges is of utmost importance to the continent’s international partners, some of whom are beginning to recognize the potentially game-changing impact.” In other words, the collaboration between Morocco and African states is drawing the attention and support of bilateral and multilateral agencies, which are invested in broader regional development strategies in Africa.