Through Its Collaboration With Pakistan, Morocco Seeks to Diversify Its International Partners

The Pakistani Armed Forces announced the end of a joint bilateral training between the Moroccan and Pakistani armies, with a closing ceremony held at the National Counter-Terrorism Center in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan.

"Moroccan and Pakistani special forces conducted various exercises in anti-terror operations, including cordon, search, compound clearance, close combat, rapid pull, rope landing, and combat medical staff," a press release on the Pakistan Armed Forces' media and public relations website said.

The same source indicated that "these exercises are the first of their kind between the two countries," adding that they "aimed at exchanging mutual experiences in the field of combating terrorism, training on best practices and adopting them, and enhancing cooperation between the two armies."

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, the expert on political science and international Relations Zouhair Attouf said: “The Moroccan Pakistani partnership is part of the Moroccan strategic orientation towards the diversification of international allies and partners. This new tendency will protect Morocco from the fluctuation and instability of its traditional allies’ decisions, namely the European Union and the USA.”

Strain Relations with EU and Morocco’s New Partners

Zouhair Attouf stated: “The relations between Morocco and Europe have recently been marked by a diplomatic crisis, particularly because of the European countries' refusal to recognize Morocco's full sovereignty over Morocco’s Sahara.”

In fact, The crisis began with Morocco's conflict with Spain, which hosted the leader of the Polisario Front, which Morocco considers a terrorist organization. The severity of the crisis was exacerbated by the problem of minor migrants stranded at the border between the two countries.

The Expert added that: “The bilateral crisis between Spain and Morocco became a crisis between the European Union and Morocco after Germany entered the line. Especially, when the European Union court cancelled the fishing and agricultural agreements with Morocco. The intensification of the crisis with the countries of the European Union, Morocco's traditional partners, prompted Morocco to search for new partners to expand its diplomatic, economic and military relations as well.”

Mr. Attouf continued: “This is reflected in Morocco's relentless pursuit to strengthen relations with African and Asian countries, whether economic dominant superpowers such as China or with the emerging ones such as Turkey and Pakistan. It should be noted that Washington's policy aiming to reposition its military and begin its gradual withdrawal from external files in exchange for focusing on internal files would leave a void in some conflict sites such as the Moroccan Sahara. This orientation pushes Morocco to fill this void by diversifying its partnerships with different countries that support its territorial integrity or at least not attacking it.”

Pakistan Supports Moroccan Territorial Integrity

After the consolidation of the diplomatic relations between Morocco and Pakistan, the countries had begun strengthening their military ties. Moroccan ambassador to Pakistan, Mohamed Karmoune pointed out that: “Morocco attaches great importance to its relations with Pakistan, which is the only nuclear power in the Islamic world.”

The Pakistani ambassador, Hamid Asghar Khan, announced in 2019 that the two countries had agreed to expand their relations to include the military field. Then, he returned last August to confirm that his country "has a clear position on the issue of the Sahara", as it "does not recognize the Polisario or the so-called Sahrawi Republic and has always supported Morocco in the UN track."

Indeed, last August, Morocco and Pakistan organized joint maritime maneuvers, when the Pakistani frigate "Zulfiqar" and the Moroccan frigate "Sultan Mawla Ismail" participated in exercises in Moroccan territorial waters on the Strait of Gibraltar.

At that time the Islamabad embassy in Rabat announced that the matter was part of the Military cooperation between the two countries in order to exchange experiences between their forces, highlighting the country's commitment to partnership with the Kingdom as one of the friendly countries in the field of defense.

Morocco–Pakistan Economic Ties

"Pakistan and Morocco have a long-standing friendship premised on mutual goodwill, mutual respect and shared perceptions on matters of common concern," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement: "Pakistan views Morocco as an important African partner."

The Pakistani minister emphasized that the collaboration between the two countries came in line with Pakistan's ambition to actively engage in the African continent through its program “Engage Africa Policy” that seeks to deepen engagement, particularly in the realm of trade and economic cooperation, with the country’s African partners. The talks were another step in this orientation.

From his side the Moroccan ambassador to Pakistan, Mohamed Karmoune announced: “Morocco and Pakistan will renew their ties and further improve bilateral cooperation in several sectors.”

The Moroccan diplomat presented the future of Moroccan-Pakistani relations in a recent interview with the Pakistani news agency Online International News Network.

Attouf pointed out that: “EU may probably lose the priority it had always earned in trading relations with Morocco after The European court’s decision to cancel the trade agreements between the European Union and Morocco.”

Morocco offers Pakistani investors and businessmen several opportunities to promote the products, especially in the field of textile and handicrafts.

Together with Pakistan, Morocco has established a joint business council to further explore the cooperation opportunities, according to Attouf.

The two countries are set to conduct a series of high-level meetings to discuss their cooperation in several fields, including trade, defense, and political consultation, revealed the ambassador.