EURASIA REVIEW
GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC)
By Arab News
By Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg
I write this week from Rabat, Morocco, where a new Cabinet was sworn in on Thursday, representing the second incarnation of an Islamist-led government, with a new and broader-based coalition.
At the same time in Rabat, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Morocco cemented their newly founded “special strategic partnership” with the formation of eight new bodies to oversee their joint action plans. Four more are expected to be set up later this year.
The newly-founded GCC-Morocco partnership has largely coincided with the appointment of Abdellilah Benkirane, the chief of the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party, as prime minister, after his party won a plurality in parliamentary elections in November 2011. His appointment by King Muhammed was seen at the time as a sign of far-sightedness, flexibility and readiness to embrace changes expressed at the ballot box.
Some expected that this arrangement may not last or that the new government may not be especially enthusiastic about the GCC partnership. But neither prophecy turned out to be accurate.
The Justice and Development Party (known by its French initials PJD) and its leader had come a long way from a radical past, renounced violence and decided to participate in the political process. For that, the Moroccan electorate rewarded them handsomely in the November 2011 polls when PJD garnered the largest number of seats by a party. As it did not win a majority (only 107 seats out of 395), it had to form a coalition to form the government.
PJD has done something else that made it more acceptable to skeptical voters and neighboring governments. Unlike other Islamist parties in the region, it distanced itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and emphasized its Moroccan orientation.
The PJD-led coalition, which has governed Morocco since January 2012, faced a major setback earlier this year, when one of its main partners, the venerable Istiqlal (Independence) Party pulled out of the government last July. The crisis weakened the government and threatened it with collapse. The lengthy negotiations to find a new partner ended last week with the formation of an expanded 38-minsiter cabinet, the largest in recent memory. The National Rally of Independents (RNI), a center-right liberal party, agreed to join the government, and was given eight ministerial posts.
Last Thursday, King Mohammed appointed the new government, led again by Beinkirane, putting an end to the crisis. The new Cabinet surprised pundits when it included six women, instead of one in the outgoing formation, and recruited some key figures in Moroccan business and politics, not necessarily from among PJD membership.
To get a broader-based coalition, the PJD was willing to relinquish some important posts. RNI Chairman Salaheddine Mezouar was given the post of foreign affairs minister, replacing Sadeddine Otmani, a well-regarded psychologist and Islamic scholar from Benkirane’s party. Moulay Hafid El-Alamy, a businessman and former head of the chamber of commerce, was appointed minister of industry, trade and investment, and Mohamed Boussaid, a local politician, was named minister of economy and finance.
The new women ministers are noteworthy for their colorful backgrounds. While Bassima Hakkaoui, current minister of solidarity, women, family and social development, has retained her portfolio, five new women were appointed to the new Cabinet, either as full or delegate ministers. Fatima Marouane was chosen as minister for crafts and traditional economy, an area of important potential in Morocco.
The remaining four women members were appointed “delegate ministers” (i.e., vice ministers), and are probably being groomed for full ministers in future formations. They represent the new generation in Moroccan politics — highly accomplished young professionals with a background in social activism and community service: Mbarka Bouaida for foreign affairs, Soumiya Benkhaldoun, for higher education and training, Charafat Afilal for the water portfolio, and Hakima El-Hiti for the environment.
The GCC-Morocco partnership will most likely benefit from the formation of the new broad-based coalition, as that partnership enjoys wide support in Morocco, among all political orientations. In December 2011, the GCC took the initiative by inviting Morocco to engage in an ambitious program covering almost every conceivable field. The eight new working groups announced in Rabat on Oct. 8, included, among other things trade, investment, energy, education and the environment and natural resources. They also included sharing experiences on youth and women empowerment, where Morocco has made notable progress, as we just noted in the formation of the new government.
When Morocco and GCC delegates meet later this year, they are expected to expand cooperation to include other areas, such as political coordination and cooperation in the area of infrastructure development, an area where the GCC has achieved high levels.
In addition to official dialogue, the two sides have engaged representatives from the business community to take advantage of the opportunities made available through this partnership. Business organized its first large-scale conference in May in Morocco.
Further, four GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait) have started an ambitious $5 billion program of development aid for the period (2012-2017).
The combination of aid, official dialogues and business-to-business partnerships are the ingredients of a solid strategic partnership that will be mutually beneficial.
Morocco has been an oasis of relative stability and an example of peaceful evolution for nearly 400 years. The current ruling family traces its beginning 1666, when its founder Al-Rashid was proclaimed sultan of Morocco.
Despite internal upheavals and external aggression, revolutions and bloody colonial rule, the family has enjoyed support and loyalty from ordinary Moroccans. The monarchy’s ability to adapt and respond to political and social changes is one of the secrets of its longevity.
Email: aluwaisheg@gmail.com
