Morocco calls for stronger Euro-African cooperation in tackling migration issue

RABAT, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Wednesday called for stronger Euro-African cooperation in dealing with the migration issue.

The Euro-African dialogue on migration must be the subject of a renewed partnership which allows Europeans and Africans to participate, on an equal footing, in the joint definition of the terms of cooperation, Bourita said at the 5th Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development held in Marrakech.

The Euro-African partnership must be based on inter-continental cooperation and solidarity. Dialogue is the only way to support the new mobility standards, making the migrant a central player in the Euro-African space, he stressed.

The 5th Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development kicked off Wednesday, with the participation of ministers from around 60 countries in Africa and Europe, as well as from the European Commission and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States.

The conference is part of the Euro-African Ministerial Dialogue on Migration and Development, also known as the Rabat Process.

The dialogue has been a platform for political cooperation among the countries along the migration routes between Africa and Europe since 2006. Enditem