"Not through security measures alone," replies Andre Obame, Gabon's Minister of the Interior, Security and Immigration while speaking to United Press International in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, at the close of a two-day international conference gathered here at the behest of the Moroccans who find themselves at both the receiving end of immigrants, and as an "exporter of immigrants."

Other senior officials, including Morocco's communication minister, Mohammad Nabil Benabdallah, agrees that all the security measures in the world will not prevent clandestine immigration. In fact, the final communiqu� published by the closing session, Tuesday, makes it clear that new thinking is needed. Such novelty may be found in the buzzword of the two-day conference coined: "the spirit of Rabat."

"The European countries have understood that a poor Africa will produce immigrants. Thus the better way of fighting against illegal immigrants would be to fix them at home. And fixing them at home means to provide them with the means to develop themselves," Obame told UPI.

For the millions of would-be immigrants from Africa, like in Humphrey Bogart's epic movie "Casablanca," Morocco represents the last roadblock to Europe and freedom, or the first serious hurdle between Africa and Europe. Except that in the movie people were trying to get from Casablanca south, into Africa when they couldn't get on the flight to Lisbon.

The participating countries -- there were 59 of them, from Austria to the United Kingdom and the European Commission -- recognized that "the destinies of our countries are linked and that only the development of an effective, rapid and tangible solidarity embodying both the imperatives of sustainable development and security for all will be able to offer a lasting answer to the management of migratory flows."

The committee said it was "conscient that the management of migratory flows cannot be achieved through control measures only, but also requires a concerted effort at the root causes of migration."

The countries attending the conference committed themselves to:

-- Creating and developing a close partnership between the respective countries, working together so as to follow a comprehensive, balanced, pragmatic and operational approach while respecting human rights and dignity of migrants and refugees.

-- the management of migration between Europe and Africa must be carried out within the context of a partnership to combat poverty and promote sustainable development and co-development.

-- for strengthening of an environment to occur, it is important to promote good governance, people-to-people exchange, trade and peace

-- making better use of legal migration

-- enhancing the capacity of countries of origin and transit and destination to manage migratory flows in their countries

-- developing awareness programs

-- facilitating the movement of workers and combating exclusion, xenophobia and racism

-- implementing an active policy of integration for legal migrants and controlling borders

-- fighting against illegal immigration, including re-admission of illegal migrants and trafficking in human beings

-- the committee commits itself to encourage and deepen the political and operational dialogue between the European Union and Africa on migration and development by improving the political dialogue on a continental scale

"What is needed is a Marshall Plan for Africa," Mohammad Nabil Benabdallah, Morocco's Minister of Communication and spokesman for the Moroccan government told UPI. Benabdallah was referring to the post-World War II plan that helped much of war-devastated Europe get economically back on its feet.

Morocco is greatly affected as it finds itself caught up between the two sides; Morocco is both a "producer" of immigrants and a host country from where sub-Saharan Africans arrive here for the next step of the journey, and usually the most perilous.

Then there is always the danger of Islamist terrorists infiltrating the migrants, both to recruit them and as a cover allowing them access into Europe.

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