His Royal Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco has inspired Africa students to unite. In his appreciation letter addressed, the Revered King after expressing his appreciation for the honorary title of Noble Change Ambassador Award, inspired the leaderships of the continent’s largest student group, All-Africa Students Union (AASU) and Ghana Morocco Old Students Association (GHAMOSA), an association made up of Ghanaian graduates from various Moroccan institutions, to continue promoting closer ties between Africa Students.
“I wish you success in your worthy endeavours to promote closer ties between African students, particularly between Moroccan and Ghanaian students” he concluded his Royal letter.
His Royal Majesty Mohammed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco was acknowledged by National Students’ Alliance, a body corporate established by the leadership of all student groups in Ghana.
The Moroccan King was awarded as the NOBEL CHANGE AMBASSADOR for his enormous contribution in educating Africa youths through his scholarship scheme. The King through the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) offers 100% scholarship to thousands of foreign students especially students from Africa.
The aim of the scholarship is to strengthen the bond with international students. The King in His speech to the 29th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, stressed on the imperative need to establish ‘’a proactive, youth-oriented policy which can channel energy for the achievement of the continent’s development’’.
The King and his Government have proven overtime, their willingness to support youth development and act as a catalyst for continental integration through capacity building, the reason which the Kingdom offers numerous scholarships to students of different African origins to study in Morocco.
The Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) was created in 1986 to reinforce the international Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco with a specific focus on promoting South-South Cooperation. It was established with the ambition to play a pivotal role in South-South Cooperation, bringing forward the Moroccan expertise and time-tested field experience in support of the developing countries, namely African countries. Since its creation in 1986, AMCI has mainly developed partnerships with Africa countries through joined cooperation.
Among the 111 countries which benefit from the AMCI scholarship programme 47 are Africa countries including Ghana which started benefiting from this scheme from 2012. The Agency has contributed to the training of thousands of Africa talents in several vital fields for the development of Africa.
Since the creation of the Agency, Morocco has trained over 25,000 graduates from 47 African countries, over 1,300 of these graduates were trained in Legal, Economic, Human and Social Sciences, 1,0000 plus were trained in Engineers, Technical Specialists and Scientists. African graduate trained as Medical doctors, Physicians and Health Specialists are over 2,000.
In 2016/2017 academic year, Morocco received over 11,000 foreign students, of which over 9,000 were from the Africa. In other words, over 9,000 African Students were enrolled in Morocco, with over 6,000 students being beneficiaries of scholarships. After the King’s Royal visit to Ghana, the number of Moroccan scholarships granted to Ghanaian students was increased to 70 in 2017/18 academic year, as compared to the 45 scholarships awarded for the 2016-2017 academic year; 55 per cent increase by the addition of 25 scholarships.
So far, Ghana have over 500 students trained in Morocco. We currently have Ghanaian students pursuing their studies in various fields in Morocco. Aside the academic and scholarship programs, the Kingdom through this Agency has three other main areas of intervention.
They include Technical cooperation programs, Assistance on human development projects and humanitarian assistance. The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco offered a number of technical cooperation and expertise sharing, through training courses.
To further foster cooperation between Morocco and other Africa countries, His Royal Majesty the King of Morocco has made about 52 Royal visits. He has travelled to over 27 Africa countries and signed about thousand agreements since 1999. In his speech at the 63rd anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People, on August 2016, His Majesty Mohammed VI said ‘’….Africa has been given top priority in Morocco’s foreign policy.
Morocco does not view Africa as a market for sale and promotion of Moroccan products, or as a continent for making quick profit. We see Africa as a forum for joint action, for promoting development in the in the region, and for serving African citizens. In this respect, Morocco contributes, along with other African countries, to the implementation of human development projects and the provision of social services which have a direct bearing on the lives of people in the region….’’.
The Moroccan King and his Government have shown keen commitment to pushing the frontiers of Africa Development through youth and capacity development.
This year over 2000 students and youths from different part of Africa continent will gather in the Kingdom of Morocco for the 8th Edition of the Africa Students and Youth Summit (ASYS-VIII2019). The 8th Edition of the Africa Students and Youth Summit was staged in Kigali, Rwanda from 24 – 28 July, 2018, under the theme, “Pan – Africanism : A Paradigm Shift Towards Achieving The SDGs and AU Agenda 2063: The Role of The Youth Counts.”
This year’s Summit will be staged in the Kingdom of Morocco in July, 2019, under the theme, “From Promise To Action: Connecting The Africa Union (AU) To Its Citizens Through Students And Youth Engagement.” Participants of the summit cut across student groups on the Continent at the national and regional levels.
The Summit, through a mixture of plenary sessions and series of interactive workshops brings to the fore the crucial issues affecting students and young people and take action through the SDGs and Agenda 2063 to create the continent we want.
This year’s Summit will be attended by many dignitaries from different part of the continent.
Source: Peter Panyin Anaman
President-Ghana Morocco Old Students Association (GHAMOSA)
