Washington, Feb 19 (IANS): Morocco's experience in fighting violent extremism and promoting the values of moderate Islam is a model to follow not only for the Middle East and North Africa but also for the whole world, a leading US expert has said.

Peter Pham, Director of the Africa Center of the US think-tank Atlantic Council, said on Wednesday that Morocco's strategy to counter violent extremism stands as a model in the region and in the world as it is based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of extremism through social and
economic programs along with the promotion of a moderated Islam.

Pham was speaking to Morocco's MAP news agency on the sidelines of the White House Summit on violent extremism being held February 18-20 in Washington.

In this respect, he shed light on Morocco's reform of the religious sphere citing, in particular, the imams' training program in line with the tolerant
religious and spiritual values of the kingdom.

The Moroccan strategy to combat religious extremism is "highly appreciated" across the African
continent, he said, noting that Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria are willing to
learn from the expertise of Morocco in terms of the training of imams in accordance with the
values of moderate Islam.

He also highlighted the importance of the Moroccan-American partnership in fighting extremism, noting
that the two countries had signed a major bilateral framework agreement on anti-terrorism assistance at
the first US-Africa Summit held in Washington in August 2014.