Eurasia Review
On April 4 and 5 Secretary Kerry will chair the interagency delegation to the second annual U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue.
The Strategic Dialogue, inaugurated in September 2012, is a forum for discussing the full range of U.S.-Morocco cooperation on bilateral and regional issues, reflecting the strong strategic partnership between the two countries countries. Topics for discussion will include bilateral and regional economic engagement, regional security and defense, science and technology, education, and other global issues.
This second Strategic Dialogue between Morocco and United States shows the Obama administration’s commitment to the US-Moroccan relationship. To the administration’s credit, the White House and the State Department understood the challenge, following successive statements made by senior American officials either at the State Department or at the White House.
Secretary of State John Kerry is said to be committed to sustaining the transformation of US-Moroccan relations; to continuing its policy of aiding the rise of Morocco in the region and for Morocco to be a responsible regional model that will increasingly become central to regional governance.
The strategic dialogue will give notice those who were skeptical about the administration’s intentions towards Morocco. The real test, however will come in the months ahead; Will this renew commitment to translate this important dialogue into tangible achievements of value to both sides? On this count, the decisions that will be made in Washington will certainly show how much is the United States is willing to drive the relationship forward. One wonders how far the US-Morocco strategic dialogue will really go in dealing with security issues directly and immediately relevant to Morocco’s concern about the escalating terrorist threats in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Real strategic relationships are forged through tangible cooperation on vital interests. Not wanting to downgrade the importance of the strategic dialogue however since it still sends a powerful signal about US commitment to keeping relations with Morocco on a clear upward trajectory, there’s a lot of value in that. There is also a lot of potential to cooperate on other issues, but Morocco and the US are probably going to have to leapfrog the regional problems to a great extent.
There is no denying that the Obama administration through this dialogue clearly demonstrates that it values its partnership with Morocco. The Obama administration is finally showing that it has a long-term vision for US-Morocco relations. This upcoming visit of senior American officials represents a turning point in the Obama’s administration policy toward Morocco and we can now see a sharper, more focused Morocco policy taking shape.
With the right strategies, Morocco and the United States could reap greater benefits from the FTA. Morocco would improve its access to the US market. The United States could use Morocco as a platform for the entire Africa.
Morocco-US FTA represents a step in the right direction for the economic integration of the whole African continent. Pursuing this theme, the gains from the Morocco-US FTA could be significantly boosted if accompanied by a comprehensive process of regional integration in the Maghreb and Africa. The Dialogue is an essential step in advancing a positive, constructive, and comprehensive relationship between the two countries.
Every time the issue of relationship between the United States and Morocco is brought up, there is always a historical fact that characterizes this powerful relation: Morocco was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States. Since then, the two countries have always deployed tremendous efforts to consolidate their already excellent bilateral relations. This strategic historical partnership has undoubtedly given a fresh impetus to the two countries and has opened up vast promising prospects. Time for a win-win partnerhsip.
About the author: Said Temsamani
Senior Fellow at the Meridian International Center and member of the National Press Club, Washington DC. Said Temsamani is a political analyst who follows events in Morocco and across North Africa.
