Council of Ministers: Morocco One Step Closer to Rejoining AU

King Mohammed VI chaired a council of Ministers on Tuesday in the Royal Palace in Marrakech.

Revealed in a statement released by Royal Palace Spokesperson, Abdelhak Lamrini, the council was convened to adopt the Constituent Act of the African Union (AU), signed in Lomé on July 11, 2000, and the additional protocol, as well as the bill on the approval of the above-mentioned act.

The adoption of said law comes under the implementation of the royal decision announced by the King in his speech to the 27th African Summit, held last July in Kigali. The speech underscored Morocco’s will to recover its natural and legitimate place within its continental institutional family.

It also comes after the official request made by Morocco last September to rejoin to the African Union. What followed that was a Fall tour to a number of African nations who each offered their enthusiastic support of Morocco’s reintegration and hailed the Kingdom of Morocco as an active and responsible member of the continental organization, he added.

Given the King’s determination to complete legal procedures, the sovereign insisted on the pressing need to speed up procedures related to the approval of the Constituent Act of the African Union, including its adoption by the two houses of parliament, the same source noted.

During the council of Ministers, King Mohammed VI was given details on the second phase of the illegal migrants’ regularization operation in Morocco and he drew attention to the fact that the one-year residence permit causes many problems for these migrants and hampers their integration and living conditions within society. In the King’s estimation, it also prevents them from purchasing a home, getting a loan or carrying out a project, Lamrini said.

In conclusion, the Royal Palace Spokesman revealed that, in this regard, King Mohammed VI gave his instructions to the relevant departments to examine the possibility of extending the residence permit’s validity to 3 years and simplify procedures, he concluded.

Source :Morocco World News