Morocco is a key geostrategic point
The balance of global geopolitics is undergoing a shift away from previously established models.
Morocco, thanks to various factors such as its geostrategic location and the fact that it is part of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is becoming a key point for the connection between Africa and the Atlantic.
The world order no longer depends on military force, but is now based on various factors such as information and networks that allow a nation to exert influence.
Morocco, for its part, has spared no effort in ‘soft power’ strategies such as ‘national marketing’, with which it builds an attractive image of the Moroccan kingdom for foreign economic investment without harming its culture or identity.
According to Dr Sarqawi Rodani in a report on the Modern Policy website, the recognition by several European countries, alongside the United States, of the autonomy of the Sahara under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco is a sign of Morocco's growing influence and of a shift in geopolitics.
The nation is therefore establishing flexible agreements and alliances in response to the decline of groups such as the Maghreb Union and the Arab League, which are helping it to establish a foreign policy based on interconnection and geography. This is a practice that thinkers such as Zbigniew Brzezinski and Robert Kaplan believe is key to creating a new global balance.
It is also part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ‘Belt and Road Initiative,’ which is based on connectivity, stability and shared sovereignty.
The doctrine is ‘a Chinese diplomatic effort to gain prestige and influence in the world by taking advantage of the global expansion of its companies,’ as reported by La Nación.
In the case of Morocco, according to Al Arab, connectivity is achieved through ‘a network of maritime, digital and energy corridors connecting Moroccan cities such as Tangier,
Dakhla and Casablanca with African hubs’. Stability is achieved through security guarantees and the fight against crime, while shared sovereignty influences, for example, customs controls.
An example of these security guarantees, according to Hespress, are the alliances with Mali, Niger and Ivory Coast. Thanks to this cooperation, the Sahel region is less dangerous, and at the same time, the Moroccan kingdom promotes the image of a peaceful Africa.
In terms of its geo-economic sovereignty on the African continent, Morocco has already established itself as an attractive state for investors due to its control over movement. This is thanks to its natural resources and gas and electricity flows with other countries such as Nigeria.
It even leads the process of African integration. In 2024, during the 48th anniversary of the Green March, King Mohammed VI expressed his willingness to improve transport and communication infrastructure with the Sahel countries in order to guarantee their access to the Atlantic.
The Centre for International Studies described the Moroccan kingdom as a ‘political interlocutor and a reliable economic partner’ for helping them participate in international trade.
Much of Morocco's influence stems from its status as a power (or emerging power) in various economic sectors, such as the automotive industry. But it has also, according to Spanish journalists such as Eduardo Saldaña and Aitor Lagunas, established itself as a sporting power in the African and Arab world.
Saldaña explained that thanks to the stability and important position currently enjoyed by the Kingdom of Morocco, sports infrastructure and institutions dedicated to this field have undergone profound improvements.
After all, the North African nation has been steadily improving its international standing for years, bringing it to its current geopolitical position. It is now considered a key player thanks to the multitude of local and cross-border projects that have set their sights on Morocco.