Morocco's UN envoy Omar Hilale calls for the Non-Aligned Movement to modernize at its 65th anniversary Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilale, called Tuesday in Belgrade for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to “move beyond outdated approaches and adapt to the multidimensional challenges of the 21st century”.
Speaking at a commemorative meeting marking the NAM’s 65th anniversary, Hilale said that given the challenges, crises and divisions that have emerged since the Movement’s founding, it can no longer address 21st-century issues by simply reproducing the approaches and working methods of its founding period.
The Movement, he said, is now called upon to develop its working methods and strengthen its consultation mechanisms “so that it can enhance its effectiveness and credibility, and reinforce its capacity to formulate practical and realistic proposals to address current and emerging international challenges”.
Hilale added that NAM must adapt to the profound transformations taking place within the international system and tackle new challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and new forms of transnational crime.
Without seeking to replace the multilateral international system, the Movement should help strengthen it by conveying the priorities and aspirations of Global South countries in a coordinated, constructive manner, while helping advance them within the United Nations system, the diplomat recommended.
He recalled that Morocco has made South-South cooperation with African countries one of its priorities, establishing solidarity-based partnerships in sectors including food security, health, training and human development. At the initiative of King Mohammed VI, Morocco has launched initiatives including the Royal Initiative to facilitate Sahel countries’ access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Royal Atlantic Africa Initiative, and the Atlantic African Gas Pipeline project — efforts Hilale said reflect the Kingdom’s commitment to the continent’s stability and sustainable development, aiming to make the Atlantic space a platform for openness, connectivity and economic integration.
The ambassador also highlighted the centrality of the Palestinian issue in Morocco’s foreign policy, noting that King Mohammed VI, as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, has consistently reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to preserving the legal, historical and cultural status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, while supporting the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state with East Al-Quds as its capital.
It is within this framework, Hilale said, that Morocco decided to participate in the International Stabilization Force in Gaza — a contribution that will include the mobilization of Moroccan military and security personnel, alongside the deployment of a field military hospital dedicated to providing medical assistance to the affected population.
- Source: MAP