The European Commission is ready to participate in the financing of a vaccine production unit in Morocco dedicated to Africa, one of its spokespersons said Thursday in an exclusive statement to MAP.
According to MAP, when asked about the role that Morocco can play with regard to its positioning as a hub to the African continent, in order to support both Europe's sovereignty in the areas of the economy of life and be a platform for Africa, the spokesman stressed that "in the event that pharmaceutical companies make a clear and structured proposal, meeting all the conditions of a satisfactory production chain in Morocco - including technical, regulatory and licensing conditions - the European Commission could participate in the financing of a vaccine production unit in the Kingdom".
The spokesman said it is "important for Africa to develop an endogenous vaccine production capacity".
"This infrastructure is needed beyond the Coronavirus pandemic," he explained, noting that "discussions are underway on this issue between the European Union and the African Union”.
The spokesman specified that "the financial instruments available to the Commission, in particular the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), are appropriate in supporting public-private partnerships in general and in this area in particular".
He also recalled that the European Commission has mobilized 456 million euros in bilateral aid to meet immediate health and socio-economic needs in Morocco as part of the response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
