AFCONE Executive Secretary Hails HM the King’s Far-sighted Vision for Africa
Rabat – The executive secretary of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), Enobot Agboraw, hailed, Thursday in Rabat, the farsighted vision of HM King Mohammed VI for Africa and His commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation and promoting intra-African cooperation.
Agboraw also thanked the Sovereign for His commitment to improving the socioeconomic situation of African citizens as well as the South-South region in a statement to the press following discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita.
Agboraw called his conversation with Bourita “very fruitful,” highlighting how it allowed for discussion of ways to improve Africa and find solutions to issues the region is now facing.
“We have identified several areas of the nuclear ecosystem that can be a point of cooperation between AFCONE and Morocco,” he said, indicating that one of the main concerns of the Commission is to contribute to regional and global peace and security by ensuring that African states adhere to the obligations of non-proliferation, disarmament and nuclear security under the Pelindaba Treaty.
He also recalled the agreement that AFCONE and the Moroccan Center for Energy, Science, and Nuclear Techniques (CNESTEN) had signed, highlighting the Commission’s willingness to use Morocco’s expertise in the peaceful use of nuclear energy to encourage and promote long-term industrial and economic development in Africa.
He acknowledged that this “historic moment”—which is a crucial step toward attaining intra-African cooperation—was marked by AFCONE signing a cooperation agreement for the first time with an African government.
He continued, hoping that other African nations would follow Morocco’s lead, saying that this agreement is a part of HM the King’s vision for the continent of Africa.
He also praised Morocco for its support of AFCONE in advancing the continent of Africa’s peace, security, and development, highlighting the vital role that the Kingdom plays in this regard under the guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
At this meeting, Bourita congratulated Agboraw on being named executive secretary of AFCONE by the African Commission Chairperson and expressed Morocco’s support for his mandate and mission to strengthen the Commission’s role in promoting peace and development in Africa.
Bourita emphasized the significance of the Commission’s effective governance, which will increase the legitimacy of its strategy, bolster its standing among African states, and promote these nations’ ownership of peaceful nuclear energy.
He emphasized the creation of a South-South collaboration that is active and mutually beneficial in all fields, including the peaceful use of nuclear power, and the main points of the Sovereign for Africa vision to the executive secretary of AFCONE.
The Minister also conveyed to Agboraw Morocco’s commitment to investigate strategies for establishing a partnership with AFCONE on the basis of a triangle cooperation between Morocco, the IAEA, and AFCONE in the field of training.
By virtue of the Pelindaba Treaty on the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) was created.
Its goals are to support the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology in a variety of industries, including health, agriculture, industry, and energy, as well as to ensure that States Parties abide by their commitments under the Treaty. In April 2021, Morocco ratified the Treaty of Pelindaba, and on May 17–18, 2022, it was present in Addis Abeba for the 5th Conference of States Parties.