Lessons from the Morocco Earthquake

The 18th Group of Twenty (G20) Summit concluded in New Delhi with three most remarkable achievements—the passing of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, unveiling of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor that aims to build an ambitious infrastructure project to connect India to Europe via West Asia, and the inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of G20. However, the historic summit that brought together the AU and G20 coincided with a massive earthquake that hit Morocco, a North African country when the world leaders were coming together to forge unity and cooperation on major global issues and challenges. The earthquake was so severe that almost 2,000 people lost their lives and left many struggling to survive.

The AU is a consortium of 55 member states that represent the countries of the African subcontinent. The Kingdom of Morocco has recently become the member of the AU in 2017 after years of withdrawal from the Organisation of African Unity in 1984 following the acceptance of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member state with whom Morocco shares a territorial dispute over Western Sahara. The Morocco earthquake has come at a time when the admission of the AU is a significant step in forging South–South cooperation and the importance of the global South in the international forum. In the G20 Summit, one of the major challenges facing the world leaders is how to grapple with the challenges of disaster risk and build community resilience for a safe and sustainable future.