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Morocco: Multiple civilizations promote “all-good” diplomacy

Zhao Yang

(Source: China.com 2015-7-30)

Morocco is an Arab country in northwest Africa. It borders Algeria to the east and south, Western Sahara to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and Spain and Portugal in Europe to the north through the Strait of Gibraltar. Geographically, Morocco holds the strategic location from Europe to Africa and also occupies the gateway from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. The important geographical location and the historical "special relationship" with the United States and European w88 casino games have made Morocco's strategic relationship with Western w88 casino games extremely close. At the same time, Morocco advocates the policy of "equal benefit" in diplomacy and attaches great importance to developing relations with China and other w88 casino games. It is precisely because of pursuing this "all-benefit" policy that Morocco's relations with the world's major powers are relatively stable. This kind of policy should be the best strategic choice for this not-so-powerful African country (Morocco has a population of just over 30 million, an area of ​​459,000 square kilometers, and a GDP of US$107 billion in 2014, ranking 61st in the world).

1. Develop close relations with Western w88 casino games

Due to the intertwining of historical and practical factors, Morocco has had very close relations with Western w88 casino games for a long time. withUnited StatesFor example, Morocco has been committed to establishing a partnership with the United States and firmly supports various U.S. policies. Due to its important geographical location, Morocco also plays an important role in the United States' war on terror. In 2004, the Bush administration of the United States announced that it would grant Morocco the status of a major African ally. In 2007, the United States proposed to establish a military base in Morocco to better combat terrorists in Africa. It is worth mentioning that most African w88 casino games have rejected the US proposal to establish military bases, but Morocco has welcomed it, which is enough to show that Morocco is trying to "show goodwill" to the United States. In addition, the top leaders of the United States and Morocco have always maintained close ties, with extremely frequent exchanges of visits. At the same time, the United States also replaced France as Morocco's largest wheat supplier, and built the largest "Voice of America" ​​broadcast station outside the United States in Tangier, Morocco. All this shows that the United States and Morocco regard each other as allies and support each other in various aspects such as military security, economy, and culture, and Morocco is closely cooperating with the United States' strategy in Africa and even around the world.

As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, the close relationship between the United States and Morocco continues unabated. At the second round of strategic dialogue between Morocco and the United States held in 2014, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Morocco a "regional stabilizing force" and "an engine of prosperity and security for the Maghreb and even the African continent." Kerry said the United States will continue to support Morocco in playing an active role in the fight against terrorism and extremism, and will continue to cooperate with Morocco in maintaining regional security and stability. When meeting with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Kerry said that the United States will continue to develop a "special strategic partnership" with Morocco and expected Mohammed VI to play a unique role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as chairman of the Jerusalem Committee. Moroccan Foreign Minister Mezouar pointed out that in view of the new changes in the world's geostrategic reality, Morocco and the United States should establish a deeper strategic partnership on the existing basis and use Morocco's unique geographical location to expand bilateral cooperation projects to promote lasting stability and development in the region and Africa as a whole.

However, there are also some differences between the United States and Morocco, and the issue of Western Sahara is one of them. Western Sahara is located in northwest Africa, bordering Morocco to the north, Algeria to the east and Mauritania to the south. Western Sahara has always been a disputed region, with Morocco claiming sovereignty over the area. At the same time, a group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara controlled about a quarter of the area and established the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic there, while the rest of the area was occupied by Morocco. Historically, the conflict between Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara lasted for many years. It was not until 1991 that the two sides achieved a ceasefire under the mediation of the United Nations. After entering the 21st century, the Moroccan government has conducted many negotiations with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara, but the issue remains unresolved, and this has become an important factor affecting Morocco's relations with other w88 casino games. In 2013, the U.S. State Department issued a report on the human rights situation in Western Sahara, which was fiercely criticized by Morocco. Morocco stated that the report did not take into account the development of Morocco's international status and contained some unreliable general assertions, such as accusing Morocco of closing websites in Western Sahara, conducting closed trials, and arrests due to public opinion. Morocco also accused the report of ignoring its efforts to improve human rights in Western Sahara, which have been praised by the United Nations. These responses from Morocco show that although the relationship between the United States and Morocco is already very close, it still cannot bear to be interfered by the United States on the issue of Western Sahara, and the freedom of speech and press freedom advocated by the United States in this region are also unacceptable to Morocco. But overall, due to geopolitical, anti-terrorism, security, energy and economic considerations, both Morocco and the United States attach great importance to developing relations with each other. Therefore, the Western Sahara issue will not fundamentally affect the development of the strategic partnership between the two w88 casino games.

Compared to the United States, Morocco has a closer relationship with France due to its historical relationship as a colony and suzerainty. Currently, French is still a common language in Morocco. Since Morocco's independence, its relationship with France has gone through three stages: reshaping, developing and strengthening. While Morocco is working hard to eliminate the influence of French colonialism, safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and get rid of its economic dependence on France, it also focuses on developing a special relationship with France. Since its independence, Morocco has regarded France as its "most reliable friend" in Europe and has focused on developing close relations with France in various fields. Since the 1990s, the close relationship between the two countries has further developed. When King Mohammed VI took the throne in 1999, he committed himself to developing a comprehensive cooperative partnership with France and actively cooperated with France in regional and international affairs. Currently, France has become Morocco's largest trading partner, and the w88 volume between the two countries accounts for a quarter of Morocco's total foreign w88 volume. At the same time, France is Morocco's largest investor and largest creditor, and its investment in Morocco exceeds 30% of Morocco's total foreign investment. Military cooperation between the two countries is also very close, and France has provided a large amount of military equipment to Morocco. With the active mediation of France, Morocco obtained the leading status granted by the EU in 2008. In addition, high-level visits between the two countries are also very frequent.

2. Committed to maintaining stable relations with neighboring w88 casino games

Morocco also attaches great importance to establishing stable bilateral relations with neighboring w88 casino games. Algeria is an important neighbor of Morocco. The two w88 casino games have historical territorial disputes and border conflicts. There are also differences between the two w88 casino games on the issue of Western Sahara, and they even broke off diplomatic relations for a time. Since Mohammed VI succeeded to the throne, he has focused on developing relations with neighboring w88 casino games. As a result, relations between the two w88 casino games have improved and developed steadily. In 2004, after a ten-year hiatus, Morocco resumed visa-free treatment for Algerian citizens traveling to Morocco. In 2005, the King of Morocco and the President of Algeria resumed their summit meeting that had been suspended for fourteen years. During the meeting, the two heads of state reached a consensus on developing bilateral relations and promoting cooperation in the Maghreb region. However, the Western Sahara issue remains an intractable knot in the relationship between the two w88 casino games, which will have a negative impact on the relationship from time to time. For example, in 2005, a proposal on the Western Sahara issue put forward by Algeria was passed by the United Nations General Assembly. Morocco believed that the bill violated the principle of consensus and accused Algeria of unilaterally provoking trouble, thus causing another disturbance in the relations between the two w88 casino games. In 2013, Algerian President Bouteflika made remarks on the issue of Western Sahara, accusing the region of large-scale and systematic human rights violations and requesting the international community to intervene in the investigation of human rights issues in Western Sahara. These accusations once again stimulated Morocco's nerves, causing relations between the two w88 casino games to deteriorate for a time, and Morocco even recalled its ambassador to Algeria. However, both Morocco and Algeria are willing to manage the differences between the two w88 casino games and avoid expanding the differences and affecting the overall bilateral relations. Because of this, every time a dispute arises between the two w88 casino games over the Western Sahara issue, the two w88 casino games are able to control their reactions within a certain level, allowing bilateral relations to return to normal in a relatively short period of time. For Morocco, handling its relationship with Algeria, a neighboring country that is far more powerful than itself, is an important part of its foreign strategy.

Compared to Algeria, Morocco’s relations with other Arab w88 casino games are relatively stable. Due to energy needs, Morocco attaches great importance to developing relations with oil-producing w88 casino games in the Gulf region, and has frequent exchanges of visits with heads of state in the Gulf. In December 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council established a "priority partnership" with Morocco. In 2012, King Mohammed VI of Morocco paid official visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan. In June 2013, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Osmani visited Kuwait and convened the seventh Moroccan-Kuwait Mixed Committee. In August of the same year, Osmani co-chaired the 12th Mozambique-Saudi Arabia Mixed Commission with Prince Faisal, the grand master of Saudi diplomacy. In March 2014, the fifth Morocco-Qatar Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation was held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, and an agreement was signed on a grant of US$500 million from Qatar to Morocco. All this shows that Morocco has maintained high-frequency summit interactions with Gulf w88 casino games and has established close political and economic ties with the Gulf w88 casino games.

3. Flexible and pragmatic China policy

Morocco has long pursued a flexible and pragmatic policy towards China, and relations between the two w88 casino games have always maintained a friendly and stable trend. The exchanges between China and Morocco can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. At that time, starting from Fez in northern Morocco, one could go eastward along the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt, thus connecting Morocco with the Silk Road. It was through this channel that China’s four great inventions were introduced to Spain and then spread to the entire Europe. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta came to China and stayed for more than three years. During this period, he visited important cities at the time such as Quanzhou, Guangzhou and Yangzhou, and made a detailed investigation of China's politics, economy and social customs. Battuta's experiences were later compiled into travel notes, which became the first-hand information for Moroccans and the Arab world to understand China at that time. Because of this, Battuta occupies an important position in the history of exchanges between China and Morocco, and is still mentioned from time to time in exchanges between the two w88 casino games.

Morocco and China are both developing w88 casino games. There are many consensuses between the two w88 casino games on some major issues. For example, Morocco believes that the factors of tension and conflict in current international relations have not been completely eliminated, the gap between the rich and the poor in the world is still widening, the world economic development is unbalanced, and developing w88 casino games are in an extremely unequal position. Therefore, Morocco advocates strengthening North-South dialogue and South-South cooperation, and requires developed w88 casino games to provide more financial and technical assistance to developing w88 casino games. These views coincide with China's and have laid the foundation for the establishment of good bilateral relations between the two w88 casino games. In addition, Morocco and China also have the same or similar positions on issues such as United Nations reform, combating terrorism and global climate change. As one of the first African w88 casino games to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, the two w88 casino games have maintained traditional friendly relations for more than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Since the 1990s, high-level exchanges between the two w88 casino games have become more frequent. National leaders such as President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have visited Morocco, while Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Jetou have also visited China. Frequent exchanges of high-level visits have enhanced the development of political relations between the two w88 casino games and promoted mutual understanding and mutual trust between the two w88 casino games.

With the development of political relations, the economic and w88 relations between China and Morocco have also made great progress in recent years. In 2013, the w88 volume between China and Morocco reached US$3.8 billion. Morocco has become China's ninth largest trading partner and largest tea export market in Africa, and China has become Morocco's third largest source of imports. At the same time, Morocco has gradually become a destination for Chinese foreign investment. According to statistics, in 2013, China’s direct investment flow in Morocco reached US$8.97 million, and its stock reached US$104 million. Morocco also has a strong interest in the "Belt and Road" initiative proposed by China. It believes that this initiative is a continuation of the past Silk Road and hopes to participate in the practice of building the "Belt and Road" and conduct deeper cooperation with China through the "Belt and Road" to elevate the exchanges between the two parties to a higher level.

4. Pursuing the policy of “equal benefits” to improve one’s strategic position

Geographically, Morocco is located at the westernmost tip of the African continent. One end of its territory enters the Mediterranean Sea, and the other end is adjacent to the Sahara Desert. Such a geographical feature has created Morocco's unique culture that combines the characteristics of the Mediterranean, the Maghreb and Africa, and this culture in turn affects its diplomatic strategy. In this regard, the late former King of Morocco, Hassan II, once wrote in his autobiography that Morocco is "a link connecting oceans, continents, peoples and civilizations" and said that Morocco is "like a big tree, its roots are deeply rooted in the soil of Africa, and its leaves breathe the wind from Europe." Morocco's multiple attributes and cultures make it different from European w88 casino games, Arab w88 casino games and other African w88 casino games in general. Moroccans claim that their country is a "European country in Africa" ​​or an "African country in Europe".

Due to the multiple attributes of its own culture and the needs of real politics, Morocco has adopted a diplomatic strategy of "equal benefit" with Western w88 casino games, neighboring w88 casino games and other major w88 casino games. While maintaining the traditional close relations with Western w88 casino games formed in history, it also pays attention to developing relations with major developing w88 casino games such as China, as well as with neighboring w88 casino games such as Algeria. Due to the influence of historical factors, Morocco can relatively easily establish close relations with Western w88 casino games such as the United States and France. Due to economic and political considerations, Morocco is also willing to develop stable bilateral relations with China. In contrast, due to the impact of the Western Sahara issue, Morocco's relations with neighboring w88 casino games have experienced twists and turns from time to time. However, from the perspective of safeguarding its own interests, Morocco will not let this issue evolve into an overall issue that damages its relations with neighboring w88 casino games (especially Algeria), and this has been very obvious since Mohammed VI succeeded to the throne. Generally speaking, as a medium-sized country in Africa, pursuing a "equal benefit" policy with major w88 casino games will help improve Morocco's strategic status and is also in line with its security and economic interests.

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