By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
A MODEL of Arab-Arab relations is worth emulating. This model can be built and worked on to cement it among Arab League nations. This model is the Morocco-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) relationship which is based on continuous cooperation in a bid to interpret the unit of national security within a strategic perspective.
Based on this firm rule, it is possible to look into all the events the Arab region has gone through and the role of Morocco which led to suggestions to incorporate it into the GCC despite its geographical distance that is overshadowed by its political and economic coherence. This coherence is greater than the distance and it is the bridge between the two sides.
In the Gulf, we view Morocco as the Arab gate to Africa. This huge continent promises vast investment projects, in addition to the stability it enjoys and its ability to overcome the challenges it encountered during the wave of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.
The royal awareness of people’s needs in Morocco has rendered it more attractive to foreign investors because it forms a link between Arabs, Africans and Europeans. It possesses enough capabilities for intellectual and cultural conveyance – an investment prelude desired by any country.
This fact has existed and continues to exist from the minds of Gulf elites and leaders of the GCC. This is the basis of the context of the letter of King Muhammad IV to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz about the terrorist attacks that Saudi Arabia encountered recently.
The Moroccan King affirmed absolute solidarity of the Kingdom of Morocco with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that it constantly supports the course to counter all threats and assaults on the latter irrespective of the forms or justifications.
At some point, terrorists targeted Morocco; thus, it realizes very well the level of strength in solidarity and condemnation of any criminal act, especially those targeting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which has weight in the Arab and Muslim world in terms of the economy and politics.
It is not a secret that Saudi Arabia is considered the thermostat of stability in the Arab world. Its fortification against the terrorism plague means fortification of Arab national security from East to West.
This position taken by Morocco is not strange. It has always been present in confronting any threats to GCC countries. This sparked the vision of the late King Al-Hussein II on unity of course and fate between these countries which are still stable during the reign of King Muhammad IV.
This excellent relationship has prompted adversaries to launch a shameful and misleading campaign through claims about differences between the GCC countries and Morocco. Certain events crushed such claims and this solidarity letter is one of the crystal clear pieces of evidence.
