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Doha – The European Union is looking for to harness Morocco’s established regional affect to restore its deteriorating relationships with Sahel international locations, as evidenced by EU Particular Consultant João Cravinho’s diplomatic go to to Rabat on Friday.
Moroccan International Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed Cravinho in high-level talks that underscored the strategic potential for coordinated initiatives between the EU and Morocco in addressing the multifaceted challenges confronting the Sahel area.
“The EU maintains a fruitful, very robust relationship with Morocco, with a number of dimensions,” Cravinho said throughout his press briefing after the assembly. He confused that partnership with Morocco represents a “precedence of nice significance” for the European bloc.
Morocco’s friendship with AES members solidifies its strategic attraction
The diplomat notably valued Morocco’s connections with Sahel international locations, describing them as “a vital supply of information, understanding, and identification of joint work paths for the good thing about the Sahel peoples.”
Cravinho acknowledged the twin vulnerabilities affecting the Sahel area – each safety and socioeconomic instability – characterizing these as substantial hurdles requiring coordinated intervention from each the EU and Morocco.
“The intention of my go to is to discover methods to deepen the connection between the European Union and Morocco regarding the Sahel area, to obtain frequent aims of peace and safety for the good thing about the populations on this area,” he elaborated.
Since taking workplace in November 2024, Cravinho has labored to rebuild EU relations with three key Sahel international locations – Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso – the place navy juntas have assumed management. He had beforehand outlined this diplomatic strategy throughout his February consultations in Niamey.
The geopolitical panorama of the area has undergone profound transformation since Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formally withdrew from ECOWAS on January 29. Following their departure, these international locations have intensified the event of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), now structured as a sovereign confederation.
This new entity goals to strengthen their political, financial, and safety autonomy exterior conventional West African frameworks, with the AES having already launched a typical biometric passport, abolished phone roaming fees, and adopted a typical official anthem in Could.
Morocco’s cordial relations with these Sahel states place it as an instrumental facilitator in Cravinho’s diplomatic mission. Morocco’s diplomatic weight was evident in December 2024 when King Mohammed VI’s mediation led to the discharge of 4 French intelligence brokers held in Burkina Faso.
Following this diplomatic success, French President Emmanuel Macron personally contacted the monarch to specific his gratitude for the North African nation’s essential function in securing their freedom.
Morocco as each an aspirational financial hub and the guardian of regional integration
Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad have all endorsed the royal initiative aiming to present Sahel states with Atlantic Ocean entry.
In a noteworthy diplomatic growth, King Mohammed VI acquired the overseas ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso on April 28.
This high-level assembly occurred amid escalating regional tensions, notably between these Sahel international locations and Algeria. In early April, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso recalled their ambassadors from Algiers, accusing Algeria of downing a Malian drone close to the Algerian border in late March.
The financial points of Morocco’s Sahel engagement are equally compelling. Presently, Moroccan exports to the 4 AES international locations whole roughly $300 million, whereas the general commerce potential reaches an estimated $2.23 billion – indicating a realization price of merely 11.44%.
For the EU, collaboration with Morocco affords a realistic avenue to re-engagement with a area the place its affect has declined. Observers word that Morocco has emerged as a trusted middleman in regional diplomacy, sustaining productive relations with each European powers and the brand new management in Sahel international locations.
The Dakhla-N’Djamena hall initiative represents a key pillar in Morocco’s technique to promote financial integration and regional cohesion. Designed to transcend a easy transport route, the mission goals to set up a full-fledged financial growth hall that reinforces commerce and unlocks alternatives for landlocked Sahelian international locations.
Central to this imaginative and prescient is the Atlantic Port of Dakhla, anticipated to be operational by 2029. The megaport is projected to deal with up to 35 million tons of cargo yearly and supply safe Atlantic entry to Sahel-Saharan international locations.
Amid ongoing geopolitical recalibrations throughout the Sahel, Morocco’s measured diplomacy and rising strategic capital have made it an indispensable interlocutor – uniquely positioned to bridge European pursuits with Sahelian imperatives in a area fraught with volatility and competing affect.
Learn additionally: British Suppose Tank: Morocco Steps Up as Sahel Safety Anchor