On Sunday, Morocco celebrated the 47th anniversary of the Green March. On November 6, 1975, 350,000 Moroccans and 20,000 soldiers began their march towards the Spanish Sahara. They responded to the call of Hassan II, then sovereign of the Cherifian kingdom. On the occasion of this anniversary, the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, addressed the nation. The opportunity for the sovereign to return to “the Development Program for the Southern Provinces” launched in November 2015.
with our correspondent in Rabat, Victor Mauriat
Endowed with an envelope of 77 billion dirhams, the Sahara economic development project should revitalize the region through the creation of jobs and the construction of large-scale infrastructures.
Objectives already well advanced, believes the king. ” Today, more than seven years after the launch of this program, the Tiznit-Dakhla expressway is already in the completion phase. The region’s connection to the national electricity grid is well and truly ensured and these communication networks have also benefited from a reinforcement and extension plan. »
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According to the king, the Saharan provinces are the link between Morocco and the West African statesyou, Mohamed VI thus returned to the gas pipeline project between Nigeria and Morocco. Along the coast of West Africa, the gas pipeline, mainly offshore, must link Nigeria to Spain.
“ The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline represents for us more than a bilateral project between two brother countries; our wish is that it be more broadly a strategic project beneficial to the whole of the region of West Africa, whose population exceeds 440 million inhabitants. »
Specifically designed for compete with Algeria on the African gas market, this project should also provide solutions to the closure of the gas pipeline that supplied Morocco from Algeria. For the moment, no timetable has been given, but Mohamed VI wants the project to be completed as soon as possible.
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