HM the King, Ivorian President Inaugurate ‘Mohammed VI’ Fishing Landing Point of Locodjro
PERSISMA, HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid and HH Prince Moulay Ismail, and president of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Alassane Ouattara, inaugurated, Monday, the “Mohammed VI” fishing unloading site of Locodjro (Attécoubé commune), a project that confirms the Sovereign’s constant commitment to a solid, active and solidarity-based South-South cooperation.
Worth some 30 million dirhams, this unloading site, which HM the king named after himself, reflects the Sovereign’s willingness to improve the living conditions of African citizens and combat poverty and precariousness, as well as his firm determination to promote cooperation and friendship between Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire.
The new fishing unloading site, whose construction site was visited by HM the King last March, was built on a plot of 1.3 ha, with a covered area of 2,100 m2. It consisted of the building of sea defense system and infrastructure dedicated to artisanal fishermen (an administrative building, a medical unit, a multipurpose room, etc.).
This project also included the development of a commercial zone (fish hall, an ice factory, storage room for boxes), and an activity area (a mechanical workshop, a boat repair shop, a fish smoking plant…).
The “Mohammed VI” fishing unloading site, which has appropriate structures and equipment that meet international standards, will help to revive the small-scale fishing sector, through the organization and supervision of the profession, the enhancement and improvement of the quality of the product, and the promotion of living and working conditions for artisanal fishermen.
This project will enable the creation of new jobs to combat poverty, optimize the economic performance of small-scale fisheries, increase beneficiaries’ incomes and improve sanitary and hygienic conditions, with the aim of promoting human, sustainable and integrated development.
A symbol of successful South-South cooperation, this project, the result of a partnership between the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sustainable Development, the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, as well as the Ivorian government, testifies to Morocco’s unwavering willingness to support the economic and social development of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, as part of a win-win partnership.
It also illustrates the choice made by Morocco to further deepen this type of partnership through the diversification and widening of the fields of cooperation, as well as the implementation of innovative instruments allowing the Kingdom to share with African brotherly countries the unique expertise it has acquired in sectors that generate wealth and jobs.
Four similar equipped unloading site are being built, including one at Grand Lahou, 150 kilometers west of Abidjan (whose works are at a very advanced completion rate), two in Conakry (Guinea) and one in Dakar (Senegal).
On their arrival at the Mohammed VI fishing unloading site, HM the King and president Alassane Ouattara were greeted by vice-president of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan, Ivorian State minister for Defense, Hamed Bakayoko, Ivorian minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, and Ivorian minister of Commerce, Handicrafts and Promotion of SMEs, Souleymane Diarrassouba.
The two Heads of State were also greeted by minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Aziz Akhannouch, the mayor and deputies of Attécoubé commune, and president and CEO of OCP, deputy chairman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sustainable Development, Mostafa Terrab.
