UN: Mr. Hilale outlines the strategic axes of the Rabat Ministerial Declaration on middle-income countries
Hibapress / MAP
The Ambassador Permanent Representative of Morocco to the UN, Omar Hilale, outlined, in New York, the main axes of the Rabat Ministerial Declaration on Middle-Income Countries (MICs) adopted at the end of the International Conference high-level meeting on the PRI, which was held on February 5 and 6 in the capital of the Kingdom.
This presentation took place Thursday at United Nations headquarters in the presence of ambassadors of Member States, partners, and representatives of several UN agencies, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development (UNIDO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
On this occasion, these participants thanked and congratulated the Kingdom for the strategic vision which has drawn up for the PRI at the level of the United Nations and vis-à-vis international financial institutions.
Ambassador Hilale underlined that at the initiative of Mr. Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans living abroad, jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA ) and UNDP, this conference, under the theme “Solutions to the development challenges of middle-income countries in a changing world”, achieved its objectives.
He explained that Morocco succeeded in bringing together PRIs from Africa, Asia and Latin America and engaging in collective reflection on concrete and action-oriented solutions in order to reorganize development cooperation with and between all middle-income countries.
Secondly, the conference made it possible to rethink cooperation frameworks at the national, regional and international levels to support the PRI, noted Mr. Hilale, noting that this conclave also succeeded in promoting the emergence of a new narrative “ strong and positive” in order to reorganize development cooperation with the PRI with a view to meeting their expectations and needs, as well as the challenges they face.
In addition, the diplomat noted that the Rabat Declaration which sanctioned the work of the Conference called for a paradigm shift in international cooperation in the service of sustainable development, by inviting United Nations entities, funds and programs to further develop specific strategies to engage and provide tailored support to middle-income countries.
This Declaration also supports the proposal of the United Nations Secretary-General to establish a high-level expert group to advance the selection of multidimensional indicators that complement or go beyond GDP, continued Mr. Hilale.
Under this Declaration, it was also decided to work towards the development of a Strategic Action Plan for the PRIs for the period 2025-2030 and to promote dialogue, coordination and cooperation in order to defend and make the interests of the PRI heard.
The active participation of several countries and the UN system during this briefing demonstrates the great interest in the Moroccan initiative as well as in its result: the Rabat Ministerial Declaration which is now an official document of the General Assembly for the current session. The participants highly praised the Kingdom’s commitment and the efforts made by Moroccan diplomacy to highlight the priorities of the PRI at the international level.
The High-Level Ministerial Conference on the PRI took place within the framework of the presidency of the Kingdom of Morocco of the Group of Like-minded Countries supporting the PRI within the framework of the United Nations, which it has held since 2023 and in the continuity of its advocacy in favor of the interests of developing countries, in line with the far-sighted vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in favor of active and united multilateralism. The Kingdom will continue to chair this group during the year 2024.
