Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, represented the Kingdom on Wednesday in Moscow at a meeting of African foreign ministers held on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa Summit.
The ministerial session, chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, brought together representatives from a wide range of African United Nations member states ahead of the summit’s formal opening, scheduled for October 28 and 29 in the Russian capital.
Bourita’s presence at this preparatory stage underscores Morocco’s consistent push to stay engaged in major diplomatic gatherings devoted to Africa, whether hosted in Beijing, Brussels, Washington or, this week, in Moscow.
On the margins of the ministerial meeting, the Moroccan top diplomat held a one-on-one conversation with Lavrov. The two officials reviewed the state of bilateral ties between Rabat and Moscow, relations the two capitals have worked to deepen in recent years, particularly in the economic, energy and agricultural sectors.
This year’s edition of the Russia-Africa Summit, the third since the format was launched, comes amid an intensifying contest for influence across the continent, as major and emerging powers multiply summits, forums and partnership frameworks to lock in economic, security and diplomatic alliances with African states.
For Morocco, the Moscow trip adds to an African diplomatic push conducted on several fronts simultaneously: the King’s Atlantic Initiative aimed at giving Sahel countries access to the ocean, deepened South-South cooperation, and an active presence in pan-African institutions and bi-regional partnerships.
Summit proceedings are set to run through Thursday, with an agenda centered on economic cooperation, security and energy partnerships between Moscow and African capitals. Rabat has not yet detailed the specific files discussed with the Russian side, though Moroccan diplomacy has traditionally used such multilateral gatherings to multiply bilateral contacts on the margins of official sessions.