Rabat - Middle-income countries are the true barometer of the state of sustainable development in the world, said, on Tuesday in Rabat, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita. Speaking at the opening of the High-Level Ministerial Conference on Middle-Income Countries, which is being held under the theme: "Solutions to address development challenges of Middle-Income Countries in a changing world", the Minister added that these countries are the "middle class of international society", the ones that drive the economy and benchmark the level of development. In this regard, he highlighted their place and weight in the global economy, their assets and demographic dynamism, as well as their diversity and geographical and cultural representativeness, noting that they are also a systemic lever for regional and international peace and stability. "It's in the Middle-Income Countries that we see some of the finest economic and societal success stories, and some of th e most inspiring experiments in progress and reform, carried out in the face of adversity", he underlined, noting that these countries are a source of inspiration and motivation for the nations of the world, in this troubled international context. In this respect, the Minister said that healthy economies in Middle-Income Countries are beneficial for the global economic order, and indeed for the world order itself. He also pointed out that these countries face similar challenges, notably ongoing stagflation, a growing debt burden, and increasingly difficult access to international financing, hampering progress towards sustainable development goals. Bourita stressed that the gaps in development cooperation have widened, at a time when Middle Income Countries need special attention more than ever, noting that sustained cooperation is needed to strengthen investment in sustainable development and preserve the development momentum they have been able to build. He also emphasized that this conference is intended to be a formidable lever for international action, first and foremost economic, for the benefit of all its members, individually and collectively, calling for an awareness of the importance of these countries, and an appreciation of the challenges they face. According to him, Middle-Income Countries should have the ambition to break out of the "middle-income trap". In this regard, political stability, economic progress and social prosperity are neither a monopoly nor a cartel, he said, pointing out that they are nothing other than the universal capital of the Society of Nations, if it is to be an International Community with no one left behind. Middle-Income Countries should also aim to anchor the idea that this grouping is not a "sub-group", added the Minister, explaining that it is indeed a grouping in its own right, strong in numbers (108 countries, with 75% of the world's population), around 30% of world GDP, and strong in geographic, economic, sociological and cultural diversity; with coherent and hom ogeneous levels of development, where what unites is far more substantial than what differentiates. The Minister also called on Middle-Income Countries to have the ambition to recapitalize around their assets, and to remobilize around their challenges, and above all to be, each in its own region, actors of regional development, and all together, vectors of interregional and international development. He stressed that this high-level meeting is vital, and that it must mark a break with the past, pointing out that it is for this reason, too, that Morocco wished to run for the presidency of the Group of Friends of the Middle-Income Countries, in order to help give new impetus to the group's action. In this respect, he expressed the conviction that action by Middle-Income Countries should focus on three fundamental priorities: repositioning the Middle-Income Countries group as an operational platform that carries weight in global economic governance, and repositioning international development cooperation. It is also a question of repositioning cooperation and partnership within the group of Middle-Income Countries, through structuring and innovative projects in areas of common interest, he underlined, noting that it is in this respect that Morocco, acting under the enlightened vision of HM King Mohammed VI, has always made economic and technical cooperation with its partners a fundamental priority of its foreign policy. Bourita affirmed that Morocco has developed strategic partnerships, notably with sister African countries, noting that these partnerships have been established according to a global, integrated and inclusive approach, based on solidarity and co-development and in line with regional integration, creating a favorable space for investment and trade. In this context, he recalled that ambitious and structuring cooperation initiatives and projects have been launched under the personal impetus of His Majesty the King, in strategic sectors for development in the fields of agriculture, health, energy, ba nking and basic infrastructure, citing, among others, the Nigeria-Morocco African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline project, the Royal Initiative to facilitate access to the Atlantic Ocean for the African Sahel States, and large-scale fertilizer production projects in several African countries to contribute to food security in the region. Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse NEW YORK: Any move by Israel to extend its full-scale invasion of Gaza into the massively overcrowded southern city of Rafah could lead to war crimes which must be prevented at all costs, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday. 'We as the UN and Member States of the UN can bear witness,' OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva. 'We can make clear what the law says… under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.' The development came as OCHA reported an increase in Israeli strikes in the Rafah governorate on Sunday and Monday. At the same time, thousands of Gazans continue to flood into Rafah, including many who have fled intense fighting in Khan Younis. The result of this exodus is that Rafah's population has increased fivefold since the Israeli aggression on the enclave began on 7 October. 'To be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large-scale loss of civilian lives and w e must do everything possible within our power to avoid that,' Laerke said. Confirming accounts of ongoing heavy fighting in Khan Younis, Tommaso Della Longa from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that 8,000 Gazans who had been sheltering at Al Amal hospital had left the facility on Monday, after Israeli authorities guaranteed safe passage. Despite this positive development, the situation in Gaza is 'beyond catastrophic…a nightmare' that continues to get worse, the IFRC spokesperson said, as he mourned the death of aid worker, Hedaya Hamad, from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), killed during shelling at Al Amal hospital compound last Friday. 'In the last more than two weeks the hospital was surrounded by heavy shelling, fighting, no way in, no way out, (it was) hit several times and the last time was last Friday when this colleague was killed,' Della Longa said, as he described desperate shortages of medicine, food and water and the 'almost impos sible' task of replenishing stocks and of gaining access for ambulances. Almost 100 people remain inside the ailing health facility including elderly patients and others with disabilities who could not be moved, along with staff and volunteers. 'I don't want even to think about the possibility of whether Al Amal will close in the next coming days,' said the IFRC spokesperson, noting that the same scenario had played out at another hospital, Al Quds, in Gaza City, which the PCRS declared closed on 12 November. 'The reality is that if the situation does not change, it will be very difficult to continue the activities in the hospital.' Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA