In this particular and highly significant conjuncture, the choice of Laayoune where several African countries opened consular representations as in  Dakhla, carries within it a very strong symbolic dimension, insofar as the southern provinces have become an important crossroad and a hub of regional economic development at the service of the populations, but also of the African Continent and South-South cooperation in accordance with the High Orientations of His Majesty the King, may God assist Him.
The representatives of Pacific Island States who are relatively close to the epicenter of the Coronavirus epidemic, decided to brave the latter to honor their participation in this 3rd edition. Their presence on Moroccan soil indicates a very strong conviction in the role of the Kingdom as a convincing, serious and credible model of South-South cooperation.
This 3rd edition in Laayoune offers therefore the ideal framework to initiate a deep thinking on the challenges linked to climate change, renewable energies and the materialization of the Objectives of Sustainable Development which constitute for Morocco as well as these countries the major axes in the definition of their national priorities.
Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, has been one the major advocates of climate change awareness, which is at the very heart of the Pacific Island States’ national priorities.
During the COP 22 that Morocco hosted, the kingdom made every effort to make the voices of the countries most vulnerable to climate change heard, at the forefront of which are the countries of the African Continent and the Pacific Island States.
This 3rd edition is also intended to concretize these values and ideals that underpin a South-South cooperation federating synergies between Morocco and the Pacific Island States within the framework of economic and commercial cooperation.
The Laayoune meeting offers furthermore an opportunity to deepen, on the background of the political dialogue, a multidimensional cooperation between Morocco and the Pacific Island States, in the framework of a solidary and innovative approach touching in particular the domains of education, environment, a responsible tourism caring about the preservation of ecosystems, transport and sustainable development.
In another register, Morocco and the Pacific Island States have always agreed on questions of common interest and prioritized the search for peaceful solutions to settle conflicts through negotiations and dialogue.
In this context, the Pacific Island States support the efforts of the UN to reach a negotiated and sustainable solution to the conflict around the Moroccan Sahara and welcome the Moroccan plan of autonomy in its southern provinces.
The Southern provinces, engaged in a dynamic of all-around development, are capable of serving as a model and platform of opportunities of cooperation with the Pacific Island States.