Marruecos acerca posturas con el Grupo de Visegrado

The context of instability in North Africa is forcing Morocco to seek allies on which to rely in order to face the challenges that lie ahead. The failure to appoint a new ambassador to Spain has only widened the rift with Madrid, and the rupture with Algeria has fuelled an arms race that continues unabated. For this reason, the country presided over by Aziz Akhanouch is looking to the Visegrad Group (made up of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) for a strong ally in various areas, particularly economic ties in order to be able to face the consequences that the COVID-19 pandemic has left and continues to leave behind.

Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, held a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó, in which he assured that "through our bilateral relations with the four Visegrad countries (also known as V4), we know that we have a solid base of trust that offers us the possibility of taking our relationship to a higher level". Rabat speaks of a V4+Morocco relationship as they speak of "the opportunities available to us, particularly in terms of economic development".

For his part, the Hungarian minister recalled that "over the last five years, the two countries have signed more agreements than in previous decades". The relations of the four Central European countries with the European Union, especially Poland and Hungary, have led to a search for new allies, finding needs and agendas similar to those of the Alawite kingdom. Morocco is the third most important economic partner of the country led by Viktor Orbán, a very important factor with the arrival of the pandemic and which they have now "decided to strengthen" in this meeting between the foreign ministers that took place in Budapest.

Security and migration were also discussed at the meeting. The latter is very controversial in both countries for very different reasons. Bourita argued that "migration is a natural and often beneficial phenomenon. The problem only arises when human trafficking networks come into play". He added that "If the European Union has always been calm on its southern coast, it is because Morocco is doing a tremendous job", showing a firm position despite disputes with Spain over waves of irregular migration as a result of diplomatic problems between the two countries.

The study of "the means to contribute together to peace, stability and development in Africa" is another of the issues that they wanted to study in depth due to the instability that floods the continent. The future of the continent is a major concern, both in the short and long term. In the coming years, investment is expected to increase due to the growth that Africa is expected to experience. Nasser Bourita said that in 30 years' time, the population of Africa is expected to exceed 2.5 billion people, so "either we invest in the continent to make it an opportunity for all, or we abandon it and turn it into a burden".