[co-author: Ilham Kabbouri]

We continue our Africa Stand Up series with a short piece on what has to be the unsung giant impacting Sub-Saharan Africa.  On 13 March 2017, the Moroccan flag was officially raised in a ceremony at the African Union (AU) headquarters; this marks the return of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union earlier this year after 33 years of absence.

When addressing the Heads of States for his first speech at the AU, His Majesty King Mohammed VI started by saying:

"It is so good to be back home, after having been away for too long! It is a good day when you can show your affection for your beloved home! Africa is my continent, and my home.

However, anyone who has followed Morocco's outbound activity on the continent in the last three decades will know that Morocco had never really left "home", and indeed has been a major player in investment in Africa. The King acknowledged this later in his speech, stating:

"[…]  at a time when the Kingdom is among the most developed African nations and when a majority of Member States looks forward to our return, we have decided to join our family again. A family we had not really left! In fact, despite having been absent from the AU institutions for so many years, our links, which have never been severed, have remained strong and African sister nations have always been able to rely on us."

Morocco withdrew from the former Organisation of African Unity (the AU’s predecessor), as a result of the seating of the Polisario Front as representatives of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Kingdom, however, remained extremely active on the continent and continued to expand and strengthen its economic ties with fellow African Counties in various fields of cooperation during its years of absence from the AU.

Indeed, over the last decade, Morocco’s investment in sub-Saharan Africa represented 85% of its overall foreign direct investment according to data from the country’s finance ministry and the African Development Bank. Since 2000, the King has made more than 46 visits to 25 countries on the continent and the Kingdom has concluded an estimate of 1000 Trade and Cooperation Agreements with fellow African nations. A number of strategic projects agreements were also concluded during the King's trips to these sister nations. To take only one example, in December 2016, during the King's visit to Nigeria, he agreed with President Buhari to jointly develop a natural gas pipeline to run approximately 4000km along the West African coast from Nigeria to Morocco on a route yet to be decided.

Further, Moroccan Corporations such as the OCP Group, BMCE/Bank of Africa, Attijariwafa Bank Group, Maroc Telecom and Royal Air Maroc (to only list a few) have had a large presence in sub-Saharan Africa and have shown a strong commitment to the continent they call home:

• Maroc Telecom, the leading national telephone company in Morocco, operates in more than 10 countries in West Africa under different names
• The BMCE operates through its majority owned Bank of Africa in 18 African nations.
• Attijariwafa Bank Group operates in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.
• Over the past decade, Royal Air Maroc, one of Africa’s biggest airlines, has increased the number of its flights to African destinations from 14 in 2007 to 32 in 2016. The airline also showed its strong commitment to Africa during the Ebola outbreak. Royal Air Maroc, maintained all of its flights to the region at a time when all international air carriers, with the exception of Belgium-based SN Brussels, suspended flights to the affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone amid concerns over the outbreak.
• In 2016, the OCP created a new subsidiary called OCP Africa to lead the development of the group on the African fertilizer market. In November 2016, the OCP signed a deal with Ethiopia to build a US$3.7bn fertiliser plant in the east African country.

Morocco's investment and commitment in Africa (and its particular focus on West Africa) has led the country to request, earlier this month, to join the Economic Community of West African States ("ECOWAS") as a full member. Morocco has had the "Observer Status" for several years but, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Kingdom is now willing and ready "to crown the strong political, human, historical, religious and economic ties at all levels with ECOWAS member countries”. The trade bloc will decide on Morocco's accession in July 2017

Over the past year, Morocco has reaffirmed its African Identity and has repositioned itself as a major player in Africa in the hope that the continent will stand up. At the AU, when addressing sister nations, the King concluded his speech saying:

"This is the path to solidarity, peace and union chosen by my country. We reaffirm our commitment to the development and prosperity of African citizens. We, peoples of Africa, have the means and the genius; together, we can fulfill the aspirations of our peoples"

So watch this space as, whilst commentators fret about the impact of Brexit and America first,  another example of Stand Up Africa confidently ups its game on the continent.