Full Text of the Speech Delivered By H.M. King Mohammed VI at the 5+5 Summit in Tunis
"Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to my distinguished brother, His Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose country, the Republic of Tunisia, is hosting our Forum's first Summit. We are also grateful for the warm welcome extended to us and for the arrangements made for the success of this gathering.
That the summit should convene at this point in time when the international situation is marked by so many challenges with fast-growing ramifications, is indeed an outstanding event which shows the depth of the cultural interaction existing between the peoples of the western shores of the Mediterranean. It also confirms our strong determination to take concerted action to address the problems and concerns we share and to develop a comprehensive approach to tackle them. The aim is to turn our region into an ideal place to build cooperation and good neighborly ties, which are essential pre-requisites for the preservation of peace, security and stability in this sensitive part of the world.
This summit provides a valuable opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue. Building a consensus, if only over some of the issues and problems of common interest, will therefore contribute to developing our Forum into a peaceful creative gathering, which is able to devise useful and efficient policies. It will also wield significant influence on Mediterranean relations and help enhance co-operation with the EU's neighboring states, within the framework of the new neighborhood policy between the European Union and the South Mediterranean nations.
As we convene today, we feel encouraged and stimulated by the values we share and which represent the cornerstone of our gathering. We are determined to use all available mechanisms to build the best possible model of large-scale regional co-operation. We share the same vision and resolve to make co-operation between us a pioneering experience within the political strategy designed to build a new partnership between the European Union and the South Mediterranean countries, which will be of great benefit to all other Mediterranean regional groupings.
In this connection, I would like to reiterate our commitment to making the promising project stemming from the Agadir Declaration a tangible reality. We are also keen to see our Forum serve as a bridge for the European Union and the Maghreb to engage in open co-operation with the African continent, whose countries are yearning for stability and sustainable development within the framework of the NEPAD initiative, which deserves stronger support from us.
We all attach the greatest importance to economic and social sectors. Yet, one wonders to what extent we have managed to design effective, realistic projects with specific means of implementation, rather than waiting for certain Mediterranean deadlines, such as the 2010 agenda.
I am sure we are all concerned about this issue. We can make this summit the starting point for a planning process to develop concrete projects, which are free from the constraints hampering the work of other groupings.
We shall endeavor to enhance the specific status of this region steeped in history. We want to make it an open space for free movement of persons and capital, for cultural diversity and interaction, for dissemination of democratic values and for the protection of human rights and dignity. These values constitute the cornerstone of the policy we are pursuing in order to consolidate the foundations of modern Morocco.
We should stick to this path if we are to overcome the numerous difficulties arising from the current economic situation and their adverse social implications, particularly the problem of illegal immigration, which, incidentally, cannot be solved by a single country nor within a single Mediterranean region. Hence the need for us to incorporate the security dimension into a wider, more comprehensive, human strategy for development and for optimal co-operation between our countries. This requires that south-western Mediterranean countries be provided with the necessary resources and technology and also with the support they need to tackle social problems, especially youth unemployment.
Aware of the seriousness of such a phenomenon, which is inconsistent with human dignity and has adverse effects on the ties of cooperation and good neighborliness, we have set up special agencies to deal with immigration and border-monitoring issues. Morocco seeks, in cooperation with its neighbors and partners, to develop efficient public policies to curb this phenomenon to contain the flow of illegal migration and to tackle its deep-rooted causes as well as its adverse implications.
Beyond cultural considerations and neighborly relations, our Forum is characterized by the existence of two blocs, one in the North and the other in the South. The first enjoys full socio-cultural homogeneity and economic integration, while the other aspires to achieve the same homogeneity and integration, by establishing, on firm foundations, a strong and effective Maghreb Union, which would preserve the vital interests of its states and ensure their unity, stability and sustainable development.
Setting up an effective Maghreb Union, with full mechanisms and procedures, is an objective of paramount importance to Morocco and, no doubt, to our brothers in the Arab Maghreb. This is a strategic choice which is likely to help us meet current and future challenges and fulfill the Maghreb peoples' aspirations for unity, complementarity and integration.
This objective, however, cannot be achieved unless we manage to overcome the obstacles facing us, particularly the artificial dispute regarding Morocco's territorial integrity, which calls for a peaceful, consensual and final negotiated settlement, in keeping with international legality. Any settlement, however, must guarantee the national unity and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco and enable the populations of the region to manage their local affairs by themselves and enjoy integrated development in a democratic and stable environment; otherwise the region runs the risk of becoming a hotbed of tension and conflict.
This risk, coupled with the potential threat of terrorist activities, which are rejected by all revealed religions and are incompatible with our shared cultural values, represents the biggest threat to the security of the entire region.
I am convinced our five European partners, with whom we share many interests, will support this approach which reflects our ambition to build a realistic, comprehensive and integrated partnership with them.
Given its rich tradition of cooperation with friendly nations, Morocco will make every effort to give substance to the Arab Maghreb project, and turn it into an integrated bloc, capable of making full use of its peoples' energies and potentialities, and of engaging in constructive interaction with its European partners, in a spirit of trust, security and complementarity.
Some of the proposals made at the Ministerial Conference in Lisbon in 2001 are still important and relevant today. In this respect, Morocco is fully prepared to host the proposed conference which will deal with investment in our region.
Your Excellencies,
As we meet today to adopt comprehensive approaches to our economic, social and political issues with their different implications on security, development and democratic practice in the Western Mediterranean, the horrible, bloody conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean region is very much on our minds.
In this connection, I wish to reiterate, once again, our unwavering support for the brotherly Palestinian people in their quest to recover their legitimate rights and establish their independent State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and living side by side with the State of Israel. I also reaffirm our commitment to peace and to negotiation as the only viable option to end this conflict as well as the vicious circle of violence and counter-violence.
The international community - the Quartet in particular - is called upon to exert every effort to break the stalemate in the peace process, by giving fresh impetus to the Road Map, which we support. We commend the international Powers which are seeking to implement the Road Map. We are fully prepared, in this regard, to take all necessary measures and support all good offices in an effort to achieve the objectives pursued, in keeping with international legality.
Another reason for optimism is that the Iraqi people are moving in the right direction and will very soon be in a position to run their own affairs, within the framework of their country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and thus play a significant role at regional and international levels, while enjoying the freedom and democracy they yearn for.
Your Excellencies,
In a world dominated by sweeping globalization, the unrestricted, swift movement of capital is clearly not matched by a similar movement of persons, nor by across-the-board benefit from the creation of wealth. The question therefore, is: how can we make our region, in particular, a model of balanced cultural interaction and economic exchange between the North and the South?
Having said that, I recommend that employment-generating investments go to people in their respective countries, where their rights are preserved, instead of people being compelled to migrate illegally to look for means of subsistence, in conditions which strip them of their dignity, and cause never-ending problems and disputes.
This complex issue is a cause for concern for all of us. It is our firm belief that a solution is not at all impossible, and that a 5+5 Forum, built on integration and solidarity, would have the means to effectively implement that solution. I am convinced my distinguished brothers and friends the Heads of States and Governments are indeed up to the task and I reiterate my full appreciation to them for their efforts in this strategic endeavor. I am eager to work with them to make good use of our peoples' energies, and to build an integrated Western Mediterranean area in order to achieve our common goal, which is to take advantage of geographic proximity and make the Mediterranean region, East and West, a haven of peace, tolerance and good neighborliness. Let us make the two shores of the Mediterranean a focal point for effective, solidarity-based regional globalization with a human face.
Let us make the Western Mediterranean a model of strategic partnership which would help bridge the economic and cultural gap between the countries of the North and those of the South."