diplomacy
Baerbock in Morocco: Efforts to restart relations
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) upon her arrival at Rabat Airport. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
The radio silence between Morocco and Germany is over – bilateral relations are being ramped up again. A visit by the German Foreign Minister to the Kingdom is intended to mark the new beginning.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to put relations with Morocco on a new footing after months of a diplomatic crisis. “Many new ideas for cooperation were developed, many good projects from the past were put on a new footing,” she said after her arrival in the Moroccan capital Rabat, where she plans to meet Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita today. With a joint declaration, both sides want to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
The dispute over Western Sahara, a sparsely populated desert region on North Africa’s Atlantic coast, plunged relations into a deep crisis last year. At its peak, Morocco withdrew its ambassador from Berlin for several months in May. Morocco accused Germany of being hostile. The Foreign Office rejected the allegations.
Baerbock and Bourita had already settled the dispute in a video conference in February. In a subsequent statement, it was said that they wanted to “reconnect to the special quality of the bilateral relations”. This declaration of intent is now to be filled with life.
Geographically close to Europe
Baerbock specifically named the field of renewable energies as a field of cooperation. “But even beyond that, the potential for more economic cooperation and human exchange is huge,” she said. “In the interests of the people in both countries, we want to get our relations back on track that fully seizes and uses these opportunities.”
Morocco is the African country geographically closest to Europe. At the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, both continents are only 14 kilometers apart. The country is a quarter larger than Germany, but has less than half as many inhabitants (about 36 million).
Morocco has occupied most of Western Sahara since the Spanish left in 1975, but membership of its territory is not recognized internationally. The Polisario liberation movement, which is supported by Algeria, has been striving for independence there for decades. A ceasefire has been in force since 1991, which is monitored by a UN mission. There are always fights.