“The Kingdom’s gesture, which is significant in many respects, shows Morocco’s African solidarity and commitment and demonstrates that we are together in the face of this pandemic,” Muchanga told MAP following a meeting, Thursday at the headquarters of the African Union, with the Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and the UN-ECA, Mohamed Arrouchi.

"This gesture sends the message that we can, when united, face these problems," said the AU Commissioner.

Muchanga, who welcomed this initiative which “will greatly contribute to consolidating relations between the Kingdom and the rest of Africa”, noted that “in addition to helping the different communities in Africa to respond more effectively to the threat posed by COVID 19, it is also an indication that Morocco may be a major supplier to Africa of products manufactured in the Kingdom”.

Indeed, he explained, "one of the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic was the disruption of supply chains, particularly global supply chains, and Morocco acted by saying that we can develop internal supply chains to supply the rest of Africa.”

The AU Commissioner urged Moroccan companies to put their products on the continental platform for the purchase of medical supplies which was set up by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to promote medical products in all African countries.

The AU Commissioner, who said that one of the initiatives that Africa is ready to undertake is that of regional stocks, in order to cope with similar pandemics in the future, encouraged Morocco to provide its products within the framework of these regional stocks.

The AU Commissioner said that Morocco’s industrial base is very impressive and remains one of the most developed ones across Africa.

In this regard, he encouraged the Moroccan government to increase efforts to ratify the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), so that Moroccan companies are better placed to supply this market.
HM King Mohammed VI has given his high instructions to send a medical aid to several African countries to support their efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical aid sent to these countries includes some 8 million medical masks, 900,000 protective visors, 600,000 hygiene caps, 60,000 medical gowns, 30,000 liters of hydroalcoholic gel, 75,000 boxes of chloroquine and 15,000 boxes of Azithromycin.

This solidarity action is part of the implementation of the Initiative launched by HM the King on April 13, 2020, as a pragmatic and action-oriented approach, intended to the brotherly African countries, enabling the sharing of experiences and good practices and aiming to establish an operational framework in order to support their efforts in the various phases of the management of the pandemic.