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For decades, discussions about Atlantic Africa remained largely conceptual, emphasizing geography more than strategy. Stretching from Morocco to South Africa, the region brings together some of the world's fastest-growing economies, abundant critical minerals, major fisheries, expanding energy resources, dynamic demographic trends, and a strategic maritime coastline connecting Europe, the Americas, and increasingly the Indo-Pacific through evolving trade routes. Yet these assets remain fragmented. Infrastructure gaps, regulatory divergence, limited transport connectivity, and persistent security challenges continue to prevent the emergence of a fully integrated Atlantic economy. The challenge facing African policymakers is therefore less about identifying opportunities than about creating the institutional, financial, and political conditions necessary to transform these comparative advantages into sustainable development.

 

This is precisely where the Atlantic agenda acquires strategic significance. Atlantic Africa has a historic opportunity to achieve shared prosperity through concrete projects that strengthen connectivity and generate tangible economic returns. Corridors, ports, logistics platforms, energy infrastructure, industrial clusters, and cross-border investments can form the backbone of a new regional architecture, grounded in gradual, project-based integration rather than institutional frameworks disconnected from economic realities.

 

Within this broader transformation, Morocco has positioned itself as one of the principal architects of an emerging Atlantic vision for Africa. The Royal Atlantic Initiative, launched in 2023, represents one of the most ambitious attempts to operationalize this vision by facilitating Atlantic access for landlocked Sahelian countries through transport corridors, port infrastructure, logistics networks, energy cooperation, and economic partnerships.

 

The initiative illustrates how infrastructure can serve broader geopolitical objectives. Improved access to Atlantic ports could significantly reduce transport costs for Sahelian economies, diversify commercial routes, enhance food and energy security, and strengthen regional resilience against external shocks. Dakhla, supported by its expanding port infrastructure and growing logistics capacity, is expected to emerge as a critical gateway connecting West Africa, the Sahel, Europe, and the Americas. Mauritania, owing to its unique geographic position, is equally indispensable. Far from serving merely as a transit corridor, it has the potential to become a strategic hub linking North Africa, Atlantic West Africa, and the Sahel.

 

Nevertheless, infrastructure alone will not deliver integration. Successful Atlantic cooperation will require sustained political commitment, coordinated regulatory reforms, efficient customs procedures, secure inland transport corridors, significant public and private investment, and strengthened regional security cooperation. Strategic projects such as the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline further demonstrate that connectivity must be understood in its broadest sense, combining energy security, industrial development, investment attraction, and economic diversification into a coherent regional vision.

 

The Atlantic is therefore no longer a peripheral maritime space. It is becoming one of the principal geoeconomic frontiers of the twenty-first century. For Africa, this transformation presents a historic opportunity to convert geography into influence, connectivity into prosperity, and cooperation into long-term resilience.

Through flagship initiatives such as the Atlantic Dialogues and the Atlantic Currents report, the Policy Center for the New South has, for more than a decade, consistently contributed to shaping the debate on Atlantic cooperation and Africa’s role within this evolving strategic space. In this edition, we invite you to discover a selection of these contributions, reflecting our sustained commitment to research, policy dialogue, and strategic engagement in support of a more integrated, balanced, and resilient Atlantic community.

BOOKS

(FR) Atlantic Africa: The Ambition of Integration and the Process of Operationalization

 

Edited by Jamal Machrouh

 

This new volume examines how Atlantic Africa is evolving from a strategic concept into an operational reality, focusing on the practical conditions for regional integration, connectivity, and maritime cooperation. Building on the first Africa Maritime Symposium, it explores the capacities, governance tools, and challenges shaping the region's future. The book highlights the strategic significance of Morocco's Royal Initiatives for Atlantic Africa and the Sahel as a framework for stability and development. Bringing together leading researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, it offers diverse perspectives on the geopolitical, economic, and security dynamics of the Atlantic African space. More than a conference report, it serves as a comprehensive reference for advancing strategic thinking and actionable cooperation across the region... Read more

 

ATLANTIC CURRENTS 12th edition - The Wider Atlantic: Building Partnerships in an Era of Instability

 

Edited by Mohammed Loulichki

 

The 12th edition of Atlantic Currents examines how the Wider Atlantic can remain a space for cooperation amid growing geopolitical, technological, and climate-related instability. It explores conflict transformation, digital sovereignty, critical resources, and the links between climate, security, and development. The volume highlights the rise of flexible regionalism, South–South coalitions, and stronger physical, digital, energy, and knowledge connectivity. It also considers the development of an inclusive blue economy and the responsible governance of the Atlantic as a shared global commons. Bringing together perspectives from the North and South, it offers pathways toward a more resilient, connected, and equitable Atlantic future... Read more

 

PUBLICATIONS

Atlantic Africa: A Strategic Driver for Continental Development

 

Mounia Boucetta

 

Africa's development depends on the mobilization of catalytic levers capable of accelerating growth momentum, with wider benefits for the African people. The digital, energy and demographic transitions are all major challenges, but at the same time they present the continent with new opportunities for transformation. In this context, Atlantic Africa appears to be a strategic and promising area, thanks to the richness and diversity of its natural resources, its geographical position and the growing interest it is arousing among various international players. The central issue is to determine how this space can play a role as a driver of transformation, leveraging these transitions while considering the economic dynamics within the Atlantic basin, the regional integration strategies of riparian countries, as well as security and geo-economic issues... Read more

 

(FR) Morocco in Atlantic Africa’s Strategic Landscape: How Shared Interests Overcome Paradoxes

 

Abdelhak Bassou

 

This paper explores Morocco’s role in advancing the Atlantic African States Process, which seeks to transform Africa’s Atlantic coastline into an integrated, secure, and prosperous geopolitical space. Despite their differences, the Atlantic African states share common economic, energy, maritime, and security interests. Morocco’s diplomatic credibility, economic presence in West Africa, and strategic links with Europe position it to lead this initiative. The paper calls for flexible institutions, concrete joint projects, stronger security cooperation, and the development of an Atlantic Euro-African corridor... Read more

 

Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative as an Integration Corridor

 

Amine Ghoulidi, Rida Lyammouri

 

This paper examines Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative as a strategic corridor linking landlocked Sahelian economies to global markets through Atlantic ports, inland routes, and energy infrastructure. It argues that Sahelian access conditions increasingly influence trade routes, risk calculations, and gateway competition in the Western Mediterranean. The initiative’s success depends on Dakhla’s role as a major Atlantic hub, Mauritania’s position as a key transit country, and sustained demand from Sahelian states for diversified maritime access. More broadly, the paper shows that Mediterranean integration is increasingly shaped by corridors originating beyond the region itself... Read more

 

The Atlantic Initiative and Morocco–Mauritania Relations

 

Fadoua Ammari, Rida Lyammouri

 

The Atlantic Initiative, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in November 2023, could significantly reshape relations between Morocco and Mauritania. By connecting landlocked Sahelian countries to the Atlantic Ocean, it offers opportunities for new trade corridors, infrastructure development, and stronger regional integration. Mauritania could benefit particularly through the port of Nouadhibou and improved connectivity. However, the project faces diplomatic and security challenges linked to regional tensions and instability in the Sahel. Its success will depend on close cooperation between Rabat and Nouakchott... Read more

 

ATLANTIC DIALOGUES CONVERSATIONS

Morocco’s Commitment to the Atlantic

 

Morocco’s Atlantic strategy reflects a deliberate synthesis of economic ambition and geopolitical vision. By positioning the Atlantic as both a connector and a catalyst, the Kingdom seeks to align trade, energy, and infrastructure initiatives with a broader diplomatic agenda aimed at fostering balanced interregional cooperation. The Atlantic façade has become central to Morocco’s efforts to project stability, integrate regional value chains, and position itself as a bridge between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Anchored in large-scale port, logistics, and renewable energy projects, this vision translates geography into geoeconomic influence. Tangier Med, Dakhla Atlantique, and the emerging network of Atlantic free zones illustrate how Morocco is leveraging maritime governance, blue economy initiatives, and sustainable connectivity to promote inclusive growth and resilience... Watch

(FR) Morocco's Royal Atlantic Initiative: Its Impact on Africa's Prosperity and Security

 

In this episode, we host Amina Benkhadra, Director General of Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), about the Royal Atlantic Initiative. This visionary initiative, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aims to connect the Sahel countries to the Atlantic coast, fostering regional cooperation, economic development, and long-term stability. How could this initiative reshape Africa's future and help address its most pressing strategic challenges?... Watch

MULTIMEDIA

Bridging the African Atlantic: Connectivity, Language, and Regional Unity

 

This episode explores how Atlantic African nations can overcome historical divisions, language barriers, and structural challenges to build a more connected and united region. The guest highlights the importance of interconnectivity, communication in local languages, and collaboration among citizens, academics, and civil society. Regional projects like the Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline are seen as promising steps toward deeper integration. The discussion also praises Morocco’s leadership and vision in promoting African cooperation, positioning it as a key player in shaping a more united and forward-looking continent... Listen

 

(AR) Tuesday Talk: Mauritania, a Strategic Partner in the Atlantic Initiative

 

In this episode we examine Morocco's Royal Initiative to facilitate the Atlantic access of the Sahel countries and Mauritania's role as a strategic partner in bringing this vision to life. Our guest, Khalid Chaqraoui, highlights Mauritania's strategic geographic position and political transformation as key assets for advancing this ambitious project. The initiative represents a major shift in Morocco's geopolitical vision while opening new opportunities for South-led African integration... Watch

 

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