The UAE maintains relations of friendship and goodwill based on mutual interest and mutual respect with the various countries of the world. This attitude deepens in the UAE’s relations with some Arab countries, particularly the Kingdom of Morocco, whose relations with the UAE are considered a model of constructive bilateral relations between friendly and brotherly countries.
The history of the UAE-Moroccan relations since their founding by the late His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the late King of Morocco Hassan II, refers to the existence of a common political will to strengthen and develop relations according to firm foundations that serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples, in an effort to reach the level of strategic partnership. The sons are on the trail of the founding fathers, and are fully aware of the size of the challenges facing their respective countries, and are equally aware that the reasons that prompted the parents to collaboration, synergy and cooperation are still, and will continue to exist. Hence, the common interests of the two countries and the two peoples dictate the need for the leadership to uphold the heritage of joint cooperation between the two countries.
What distinguishes the UAE-Moroccan relations is that they are not the result of transient exceptional circumstances. It is a relationship forged over decades during which it has not witnessed anything that could hamper or stop it. But always saw renewed substantiated pushes that strengthen its foundations. What is certain is that the UAE-Moroccan relations are relations of a unique style characterized by a great deal of popular and political understanding and rapprochement, and each party is keen to translate this outstanding level of convergence into a political and developmental output the fruits of which are reaped by the two brotherly peoples. What reinforces this trend is that the two countries back each other’s sovereign rights. The State of the United Arab Emirates strongly supports the legitimate rights of the Kingdom of Morocco and its territorial integrity and its sovereignty over its entire territory. And at the same time, the Moroccan leadership supports the right of the United Arab Emirates to restore its sovereignty over the three islands occupied by Iran (Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa).
The march of the historical relations between the UAE and Morocco stresses that the spirit of brotherly and sincere determination is the basis for the discussions between the two countries and their cooperation and bilateral contacts in all occasions, as well as the usual consensus in the views of the two countries towards regional and international issues. What supports this trend is that the positions and the strategic visions of the two sides intersect in many situations that arise, including the common desire to support regional and international efforts to establish security and stability in the Arab region, and the consolidation of the values of openness, moderation, acceptance of others, tolerance and coexistence as values that reflect the essence of the Islamic religion and establish a human civilizational thought that contributes effectively to eradicate extremist ideology and terrorism in all its forms.
From my perspective, I think that figures and statistics and documented positions better reflect the depth of the UAE-Moroccan relations. Among many indicators I would like to refer to the existence of a joint committee that was established since in 1985 in Rabat, i.e. almost three decades ago. This committee played a prominent role in the activation of cooperation between the two countries, especially in trade and economy and joint investments, which resulted in the UAE occupying the first place in terms of the volume of Arab investments in the Kingdom of Morocco. I can also say that every historical stage of the relations of the two countries has generated its own momentum. Just as great momentum was available to the stages of the beginnings, and laid a solid foundation to the current status of the relations, the current stage has its additional qualitative impetus embodied in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development in June 2013, through which the Moroccan government was awarded $ 1.25 billion to fund development projects under this memorandum and as part of the Gulf grant amounting to $ 5 billion to support economic and social development in the Kingdom. Additionally, the UAE contributed 500 million euros in the capital of the fund ‘Wesal’ for tourism development, which amounts to two billion euros. The United Arab Emirates has also become the first investor in the Casablanca Stock Exchange in 2014 by about $ 5.5 billion.
This steady progress in bilateral cooperation was crowned by the realizations achieved during the recent visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zabid Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to the Kingdom of Morocco, which saw the signing of 21 bilateral cooperation agreement in different areas, reflecting the presence of a strong political will to proceed with the march of the UAE-Moroccan relations to the level of strategic partnership.
Over the last years, there was a remarkable development in the volume of trade and in the UAE investment in the Kingdom of Morocco. There are several factors that have contributed strongly in promoting the process of inter-relationships, and at the forefront of these are the mutual visits by both Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Indeed, these visits played an important role in giving a great deal of vitality and dynamism to bilateral cooperation in all fields. They also contributed to the speedy implementation of development projects and investments that were agreed upon. The recent visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Kingdom of Morocco has seen the opening of the Sheikh Khalifa Hospital in Casablanca, the launch of the Africa Fertilizer Factory, the seawater desalination plant in Jorf Lasfar in the province of Al Jadida, and the signing of 21 cooperation agreements between the two countries as I said earlier. In addition, the Prince has left a personal imprint on the path of common development. He gave his support to the National Initiative for Human Development by $ 100 million. He also supported Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity by $ 10 million, reflecting the desire of the leadership in the United Arab Emirates to support the Moroccan people and to contribute to improving the services provided to this brotherly people. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander Chief of the armed forces sees that the fraternal relations between the UAE and the Kingdom of Morocco are “a model of constructive bilateral relations between sister countries.”
Finally, as an observer, I am confident in the fact that the United Arab Emirates-Moroccan relations have promising prospects for development. This will benefit the security and stability in the Arab region in general, because the two countries believe in the necessity of coexistence and in the need for the consolidation of peace, security and stability.
