Tags: Morocco, African Union, Algeria, Gaddafi, Western Sahara, DGED, AMCI, Sahel, West Africa

To preserve our gains regarding the national issue in light of the withdrawal of recognition by many African states, the African Affairs Directorate has spared no effort to raise awareness among these countries about the Moroccan initiative for negotiating an autonomy status for the Sahara region, while actively seeking appropriate solutions to encourage some African countries to revise their stance on the issue in favor of our country.

Thus, depending on the evolving position of these countries, this Directorate has always framed its actions within the context of strengthening Moroccan-African cooperation relations through a solidarity approach, based on the quality of mutual understanding and respect.

In this context, the Directorate is focused on encouraging any initiative that optimizes diplomatic achievements both with friendly African countries, by ensuring the realization and support of cooperation actions targeting priority sectors, and with hostile countries, by organizing missions for high Moroccan officials aimed at politically and economically sensitizing their respective authorities.

To ensure the full success of these actions, the Directorate actively participates in the efforts led by this Department to create and prepare favorable conditions for Moroccan public and private institutions in positioning themselves in African markets.

The success of these initiatives also requires adopting a new strategy in consultation and coordination with the concerned actors (DGED and AMCI), considering the specific political and economic risks and opportunities of each country and region on our continent.

Indeed, following the disappearance of the former Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi, it appears that the opponents of our national cause are increasingly weakened due to the lack of military and financial support. However, the ongoing resistance by some African countries, resulting from Algerian activism on the continent, calls for a realization of the need for effective and dynamic involvement of our country in the generally supportive African regions: the Sahel sub-region, West Africa, and Central Africa.

The fall of the Gaddafi regime as a key ally in Algerian foreign policy recently has prompted Algeria to extend its destabilizing influence into these regions, which are returning to peace and growth.

Actions to Consider on the Political Level:

Our country has unparalleled goodwill among the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, which calls for a substantial Moroccan contribution and involvement with brotherly and friendly countries in the region, both bilaterally and multilaterally, through the South Atlantic initiative.

Certainly, our absence from the African Union (AU) is increasingly felt across various areas related to Africa’s partnership with the rest of the world. Nonetheless, our efforts at regional African organizations and groupings should be prioritized as a real alternative. This includes encouraging visits to our country by the Secretaries-General of regional African organizations to better sensitize them to our cause.

Our presence in East Africa has been strengthened in recent years, and several countries have consequently become more sensitive to the justice of our cause, thanks to high-level missions initiated by the African Affairs Directorate. The success of these efforts requires intensifying cooperation actions in targeted areas such as security, infrastructure, and agriculture, within a comprehensive approach that considers the geostrategic interests of foreign powers in the region.

Southern Africa remains dominated by the hegemonic influence of South Africa as a regional political and economic power. Therefore, Moroccan presence and actions on both bilateral and multilateral levels in the region generally face declared hostility from this country toward our national cause. Thus, revising our strategy in the region should take into account the internal political stakes in the concerned countries, particularly South Africa, where President Zuma declared that « the foreign policy of his country is the same as that adopted by the ANC (African National Congress) party. » Therefore, raising awareness among other political parties with similar affiliations is crucial. Furthermore, in light of previous unsuccessful attempts due to lack of necessary coordination, ensuring appropriate supervision by this Department of Moroccan missions visiting these countries seems highly indicated.

Moreover, this Directorate believes that the political aspect of Moroccan-African relations should be further strengthened by increasing actions related to cultural, particularly religious, aspects. Previous efforts have reinforced the historical and cultural ties of the Kingdom with its African roots in several brotherly and friendly countries such as Senegal. Nevertheless, rigorous follow-up and perfect coordination of the concerned actors’ visions require regular meetings under the auspices of this Department.

Actions to Undertake on the Economic Level:

In recent years, the Kingdom of Morocco has continued its efforts to promote its relations with African countries. Moroccan-African cooperation has thus been strengthened in the economic, technical, and scientific fields, notably through projects in housing, fishing, basic infrastructure, and air transport.

As a result, Morocco has succeeded in positioning itself as a leading and influential country on the continent.

The involvement of the private sector has been crucial. The important role of coordination provided by this Directorate is sometimes a decisive factor for the success of the actions undertaken, including seizing various business opportunities by regularly informing and supporting investors, companies, and public organizations in their strategy to capture promising African markets.

The opening of air routes to West and Central Africa by Royal Air Maroc, the establishment of bank branches by Attijariwafa Bank and BMCE Bank, and investments by Maroc Télécom, ONEP, and SOMAGE C have been encouraging factors in this regard. The presence of Omnium Nord Africain (ONA) in Africa, operating in the agri-food, distribution, and mining sectors (MANAGEM), as well as groups like CEMA-Bois de l’Atlas and Jet Sakane, are examples of successful interventions by Moroccan private operators in vital sectors.

In light of the above, this Directorate believes that the role of economic diplomacy in Africa should be further strengthened to better seize opportunities and take advantage of the significant potential offered by the African market. This aspect of diplomacy, which requires effective involvement and an ideal framework for all concerned actors, should focus on the following aspects:

1. Adapting Morocco’s trade and investment agreements with African countries to align with the strategies of Moroccan companies and financial institutions operating in Africa. In its activities, this Directorate continues to work on developing a policy of rapprochement with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), which includes eight countries: Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire, and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which includes six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad. The Trade and Investment Agreement with UEMOA was signed at the end of 2008 after eight years of negotiations and is expected to be signed soon. Regarding CEMAC, a draft Free Trade Agreement has been submitted by the Moroccan side.

2. Promoting our country’s economic and commercial interests through support for events organized by the Moroccan Export Promotion Center (CMPE) « Maroc Export. » The latest export caravan was held from December 11 to 17, 2011, and involved four African countries: Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, and Guinea. In this context, it should be noted that this Directorate spares no effort to support these promotional actions. Starting from 2012, it plans to involve CMPE and the entire private sector in economic promotion in East African countries, which also present significant economic and commercial opportunities.

3. Safeguarding political gains, which is crucial for Moroccan private sector interests due to the increasing competition from BRICS countries in the African market. The Directorate works to develop Moroccan investments in Africa with an approach that allows direct access for national companies to natural resources at competitive prices (similar to CEMA-Bois de l’Atlas). This would also enable them to reduce production costs and gain new market shares.

4. Encouraging the development and engagement in discussions on adopting a comprehensive national strategy for African policy that considers both economic opportunities and political constraints. It is clear that Moroccan investments in Africa are concentrated in the service sector, which represents a significant component of global demand. Therefore, this Directorate deems it necessary to diversify Moroccan investments sectorally and spread them across different regions to strengthen Morocco’s positioning on the continent.

In conclusion, based on the directions and visions contained in this action plan, this Directorate considers that the engagement of our accredited Embassies in Africa in its implementation is of heightened importance in the current global political and economic context. Thus, extensive coverage of events directly or indirectly related to national interests in their host countries is highly recommended.

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#Morocco #WesternSahara #AfricanUnion #DGED #AMCI #Sahel