In his speech, Mr. Bourita announced that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to significantly increase its contribution to the annual budget of the CERF by allocating an amount of 100,000 dollars for the year 2021.

He stressed that Morocco's contribution to the Fund's annual budget is intended to be the concrete expression of the Kingdom's humanitarian commitment.

The minister noted that, at a time when we are facing unprecedented humanitarian needs, every contribution is important, especially as it helps alleviate suffering, gives hope to the most vulnerable and brings us closer to the universal goal “Leave no One Behind”.

He also added that Morocco contributes "actively and consistently" to mitigating the impacts of humanitarian crises around the world, through its effective participation in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian actions throughout the world.

In this context, Mr. Bourita recalled that on the High instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Royal Armed Forces have set up 17 military hospitals and provided 2.65 million services to local populations and refugees in 14 countries across several continents.

He also stressed that Morocco is still insisting on the great importance of building bridges between humanitarian and development projects as it is the case in the Sahel region, adding that the Kingdom, as a President of the humanitarian segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), launched a call to action, supported on a large scale, to support the humanitarian response in the fight against Covid-19.

"Even in times of pandemic, Morocco's solidarity has never failed", the minister insisted, stressing that on the initiative of His Majesty the King, Morocco has provided medical aid to 20 African countries to help them counter the new coronavirus.

In this context, Mr. Bourita quoted a passage from the message that His Majesty King Mohammed VI had addressed to the First World Humanitarian Summit held in 2016 in Istanbul, in which the Sovereign underlined: "Ever since my accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Morocco, I have keenly sought to make humanitarian work one of the pillars of the Kingdom's foreign policy. I am particularly proud that Morocco has made significant contributions to alleviating the impacts of humanitarian crises wherever they happened, especially in the countries of the South."

In addition, the minister praised the leadership of Mark Lowcock, the Chief of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations, which made it possible to increase the commitment of donors to the Central Emergency Response Fund, noting that in 2020, some $ 730 million have been allocated by CERF to people affected by conflict, disease and climate disasters around the world.