"We warmly welcome this Royal Initiative of very high significance to African countries," Ndiaye told MAP, stressing that the age-old friendly relations between Morocco and Senegal are no longer to be demonstrated.

 "It's in difficult times that you recognize your friends. And it is in these difficult moments that HM the King has been willing to take the initiative to grant aid of very high humanitarian significance to brotherly African countries," the diplomat said, adding that Senegal "warmly thanks HM the King and appreciates this noble gesture".

Noting that African economies have been hard hit by the pandemic, Ndiaye stressed that Morocco's assistance adds greatly to the efforts and action plans developed by African countries, including Senegal, to deal with the pandemic.

"All together we will take up the challenge of reviving our post-COVID-19 economies and move towards a more robust development of the African continent," she said.

The diplomat also praised the key role played by Morocco for the development of Africa, stressing that the return of Morocco to its African institutional family, the African Union, marked "a very great moment of diplomacy”.