Blinken viajará a Rabat días antes que Albares
The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will travel to Morocco days before the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares. The Spanish Foreign Minister announced a few days ago the official nature of this trip after Spain announced its support for Rabat on Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, something which managed to put an end to the diplomatic crisis which had been plaguing both countries for the last ten months.
This position, published by Morocco in a letter in which Pedro Sánchez signed Spain's commitment to this new support for Rabat, has brought about a diplomatic change between the two kingdoms "for mutual benefit". Albares announced that he will travel to Rabat on 1 April in order to work together "in this new diplomatic stage" and prepare the groundwork for the Spanish president's next trip to Morocco.
However, the United States has beaten Albares to the punch by announcing that its Secretary of State will travel before the Spanish president to discuss "regional priorities", including "Iran's destabilising activities", the normalisation of relations with the United Arab Emirates following the Abraham Accords, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and possible solutions. The aim of this trip is to discuss all these issues with the Moroccan authorities in order to continue working on security cooperation.
Blinken will meet with Burita and other senior government officials to discuss their views on these same regional issues, as well as bilateral cooperation. In addition to Burita, during his stay in Rabat, Blinken will meet with the Crown Prince of Ab Dhabi, Shaykh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, to discuss both regional security issues and the latest international developments.
He will also meet with Moroccan alumni who have achieved "exceptional results" during US-sponsored educational exchange programmes.
In addition to Rabat, Blinken will travel to Algiers where he will meet with President Abdelmayid Tebune and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra to further discuss security issues, trade cooperation and advancing human rights development.
Relations between Rabat and Washington are guaranteed by their closeness and good cooperation in all sectors. Its position on Washington's support for Moroccan autonomy over Western Sahara led to a significant strengthening of relations between the two countries. Following this support, security cooperation has been remarkable.
On 8 March, US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman declared that 'Morocco and the United States share a strong common interest in promoting regional peace, security, and prosperity. The Foreign Minister and I have had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of priorities in our bilateral relationship".
She also noted that "we continue to regard Morocco's autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic, and as an approach that can meet the aspirations of the people of the region". She also praised "Morocco's positive role in supporting the UN's efforts in the political process in Libya and the hosting of the inter-Libyan dialogue".
Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra
