Updated
King Affirms Africa as “Top Priority” in Moroccan Foreign Policy | The Atlantic Council
Morocco’s foreign policy demonstrates its belief that “what is good for Morocco is good for Africa—and vice versa“:
In a nationally-televised speech on August 20, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI characterized Africa as the “top priority” of his country’s foreign policy, emphasizing that “this multi-dimensional relationship puts Morocco in the center of Africa” and “Africa holds a special place in the heart of Moroccans.” Coming just a month after the historic decision by the kingdom to seek to assume its place in the African Union after having quit the old Organization of African Unity over the latter’s controversial admission of Western Sahara separatists three decades ago, the monarch’s remarks reaffirmed a strategic orientation with significant implications not only for Morocco and other countries of the African continent, but also their global partners, including the United States.
Speaking on the sixty-third anniversary of the “Revolution of the King and the People” (Thawrat al-malik wa shâab), the rear-guard attempt by the French colonial occupiers to remove his grandfather, Mohammed V, from the throne, a maneuver that ultimately hastened Moroccan independence by rallying the populace behind the Alaouite sovereign, Mohammed VI argued that today the destinies of Morocco and its African neighbors were inextricably linked: “I believe what is good for Morocco is good for Africa—and vice versa. Theirs is one and the same destiny. I also believe there can be no progress without stability: either the two go together, or they do not exist.”..[FULL STORY]