France wants seat at table as Morocco diversifies alliances, forges partnerships with US, UK, China

1 year ago

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00:00Let's go to Washington, D.C.

00:02Sarah Zaiemi is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Think Tank's North African Initiative.

00:08Thank you for being with us here on France 24.

00:11Thank you for having me.

00:13What's this visit all about for you?

00:15Well, it's clearly a very symbolic and emotional reconnection between the two allies, but let's

00:21put this in context.

00:23The Morocco which President Macron visited in 2018 is very different from the Morocco

00:30of today.

00:31The Morocco of today is very emboldened by the U.S. recognition of its sovereignty over

00:35Western Sahara, followed by the recognition of Spain that was the former colonizer of

00:42this space.

00:43Morocco is also at the forefront of African investment, especially in West Africa, with

00:49its newly launched Atlantic Initiative, allowing Sahel countries to have access through a harbor

00:56in Dakhla to the Atlantic Ocean, and further investments in all the continents.

01:03Many analysts even say that Morocco is replacing France in some of these countries.

01:09The France also of 2018 is very different from the France of today.

01:14We see a growingly receding influence in some of these countries in Africa, and the

01:20world of today is very different from the world of 2018.

01:24Now with all the multipolar order and the malign influence of some of the countries

01:29in this region, notably Iran, that's trying to create a new proxy in Western Sahara and

01:38trying to train Polisario militants there, but also Wagner Group in the Sahel, also the

01:46Chinese dragon and economic machine trying to invest there.

01:51So it's a different Morocco, it's a different France, and it's a different world order.

01:55You mentioned Sahara, Spain.

01:57There's the feeling that there's something transactional as well in this recognition

02:01of Western Sahara.

02:03We recognize your sovereignty over Western Sahara.

02:07How do you help us keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean?

02:12That might be the headline, since the European Union seems very obsessed by that agenda of

02:19migration.

02:20But there are other more important things in terms of security.

02:24I think the transatlantic community is tired.

02:28There's a fatigue from this conflict.

02:30Everyone is ready to turn the page.

02:32There are already two big fronts that France and Spain and the U.S. are involved on, notably

02:39in Lebanon and Gaza, and then also on Ukraine.

02:43So no one needs a third front.

02:45No one needs a third conflict at the door.

02:47Yes, but for any European politician who wants to get reelected, it's the migration question

02:52that is tops right now, not the question of Gaza.

02:57Well, I think the security and the migration things are interwined and interlinked, because

03:03if you want to stabilize the Sahel and the Sahara and curb some of these migration flows,

03:10you need to invest in having stability in the Sahel and the Sahara, and hence the political

03:17will of some of these European countries to bring in investment, to bring in new alliances

03:23and fresh perceptions of how they've been dealing with North Africa, notably with Morocco.

03:30Morocco's economy has grown over the last six years, but its trade ties with France

03:34have also deepened in that time.

03:37And there is this sense that Emmanuel Macron wanted to have good relations with both Morocco

03:44and Algeria.

03:45Is that impossible?

03:47As I said, Morocco is changing and they are feeling like they are perceiving the world

03:53through the lens of Western Sahara.

03:55Now they have been diversifying their alliances and their partnerships and kind of distancing

04:01slowly themselves from France and having new, forging new partnerships with the UK, with

04:08the US, et cetera, with China as well.

04:12And so France wants a seat at the table, especially with Morocco having some huge infrastructure

04:20projects coming up ahead of hosting the World Cup in 2030, but also with its ambitious plan

04:28of the Atlantic partnership.

04:30So I feel that there is an opportunity there, a business opportunity, and France and French

04:36companies are aware of that and salivating for this market and also for this mediation

04:42that might grant them further markets within Western Africa and the Sahel.

04:48I ask the question again, Sarah, if you're the president of France, can you be friends

04:53with both Morocco and Algeria without one of the two being upset about it?

05:00Well, we have seen clearly that Algeria is receding behind Cold War borders, siding more

05:08with Russia and another axis, and distancing itself from some of these transatlantic countries.

05:16So I think in this current climate, Morocco seems like a more reliable and a country that's

05:23more in line with the values that France and its allies are trying to promote.

05:28So my short answer is that would be very challenging.

05:32Very challenging at this point.

05:33Sarah, one last question.

05:35The whole visa row, where France decided to push back against Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

05:45over their refusal to take back those who needed to be deported after seeing their request

05:52to stay rejected.

05:55Is that really also behind now, the three-day state visit?

05:59Has that cleared the air?

06:00Has that issue been cleared up?

06:02For some, this is the most important issue.

06:05I'm sure it has been cleared up now that there is a new ambassador, someone who is, someone

06:11very close for, close with the royal palace, but also close with some of the spheres inside

06:18of France.

06:19So I think there has been a clear will and a roadmap of reconciliation, of clear reconciliation

06:26since July to now.

06:28For sure tonight, there are going to be some interesting discussions between the two partners.

06:33So looking forward to hear more about the outcomes of this and the announcement of some

06:38huge projects and partnerships between both countries.

06:41And France's interior minister, among those who are front and center for this three-day

06:47state visit.

06:48I want to thank you so much for being with us, Sara Zaimi from Washington.

06:53Thank you very much for having me.

France wants seat at table as Morocco diversifies alliances, forges partnerships with US, UK, China

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