Marruecos acerca posturas con Alemania en materia de seguridad
Morocco continues to improve its relations with Europe's most important countries. Far from being dragged down by the controversy constantly fuelled by its regional rival Algeria, Rabat is opting to work on its diplomatic ties with key European nations. The latest of these has been Germany, which, through its director of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, accompanied by a German delegation, has sought to expand security cooperation with its Moroccan ally. He did so through a meeting with Morocco's Director General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), Abdellatif Hammouchi.
It was the DGST itself that issued a communiqué explaining the intention of both countries to find security solutions that serve the interests of both. In the statement, it speaks of "mutual willingness" to strengthen cooperation, while consolidating intelligence coordination in the fight against threats that could jeopardise the security of Morocco and Germany.
The current state of relations between Rabat and Berlin is a cause for optimism. The recall of the Moroccan ambassador to the German capital for consultations is now a thing of the past. At the time, the Kingdom accused the Germans of "antagonistic" activism with regard to the authority of Western Sahara. However, in the interest of improving ties with what is considered a key ally for Germany, Olaf Scholz's government publicly supported Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara as the most sensible solution to unblock the deadlock and insecurity in the region, particularly for the Saharawis, in the face of the threat posed by the Polisario Front.
Following Berlin's show of support, the two countries decided to re-establish cooperation based on "transparency, mutual respect and commitment". From that moment on, Germans and Moroccans agreed to expand the fields of assistance to "organised crime, terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime and fraud". The meeting between Thomas Haldenwang and Abdellatif Hammouchi serves to deepen the identification of extremism and the detection of terrorist organisations. Moreover, the two countries established a joint committee - which will be integrated into the Centre for International Police Cooperation at the DGSN - to oversee the implementation of cooperation tasks.
And relations between the two countries do not stop there. In 2022, German-Moroccan trade experienced a significant increase. German exports to the Alawi kingdom increased by almost a third compared to the previous year, reaching 2.8 billion euros. In the other direction, the rise was not much different. Moroccan exports rose by 32% compared to 2021, according to the statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Germany. Hence, progress between Morocco and Germany continues to advance by leaps and bounds in all areas, making the Kingdom's relations with the most important countries of the Old Continent increasingly solid.
