Dakhla to the Sahel — Morocco is drawing Africa's next map from the ocean inward. From Dakhla’s future port to an African gas pipeline, Morocco’s Royal Atlantic Initiative is positioning the continent’s western coastline as the engine of a new integration model — with landlocked Sahel nations as its primary target.
Morocco’s Royal Atlantic Initiative aims to turn Africa’s western coastline into a genuine hub of development and growth through landmark infrastructure and energy projects, the Permanent Secretary of the African Atlantic States Process (AASP), Tarik Iziraren, said on Wednesday in Palermo, Italy.
Speaking at a panel organised by the Moroccan consulate, Iziraren described the initiative as grounded in a strategic vision to deepen integration among Africa’s coastal countries while giving landlocked Sahel nations direct, structured and safe access to the Atlantic Ocean — a connectivity gap he identified as one of the region’s defining development constraints.
He pointed to four concrete pillars driving the initiative: the future Dakhla Atlantic Port, logistical connectivity infrastructure, the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, and the development of the blue economy along the continent’s western seaboard.
“The Royal Atlantic Initiative is not merely an infrastructure or connectivity project, but rather the expression of a strategic vision based on African solidarity, regional cooperation, and confidence in the continent’s immense potential”. — Youssef Balla, Morocco’s Ambassador to Italy, Palermo, June 18, 2026
For Iziraren, the initiative’s core ambition is to unite African countries that share both an African and Atlantic identity under a common vision, given the shared development and security challenges they face — challenges he said can only be overcome through cooperation and close coordination.
Morocco’s Ambassador to Italy, Youssef Balla, reinforced the point, stressing that under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Morocco has committed to making the Atlantic space a genuine driver of development, integration and cooperation for the African continent. He framed the initiative not as a project but as the expression of a strategic vision rooted in African solidarity.
- Source: MAP