RABAT, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Morocco pledged Monday its support to G5 Sahel operations to maintain peace and stability in the Sahel region.
This pledge was made during meeting between the Moroccan Deputy Minister for National Defense Administration Abdeltif Loudyi and permanent secretary of the G5 Sahel Maman Sambo Sidikou, who is on a two-day working visit to the North African kingdom.
The G5 Sahel was created in 2014 by five countries in the region, namely Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
It represents an institutional framework for monitoring and coordinating regional cooperation in security and development.
"True to its African solidarity-based policy, the kingdom of Morocco, which maintains multiform cooperation relations with all the countries of the G5 Sahel, expresses its support for this initiative in various international fora, to raise awareness of security and development challenges faced by the region," a statement by the Moroccan National Defense Administration said.
Morocco also expresses "its support for the creation of the joint military force of the G5 Sahel and is predisposed to back the countries of the G5 Sahel, notably in terms of training and exchange of experiences," the statement underlined.
The two officials exchanged during their talks on the situation in the region, as well as on the initiatives undertaken to strengthen security in the region, it pointed out.
On this occasion, Sambo Sidikou highlighted Morocco's major role, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, for the development of South-South cooperation in the African continent, as well as its active and constant commitment to peace and continental and international stability.
