Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita is urging the incoming Biden government to keep the deal struck by President Trump earlier this month, with the US agreeing to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and Morocco with it agreed to resume diplomatic relations with Israel.
What he says: “We realistically think the government will find good reason to keep this going,” Bourita told me in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of a trilateral summit between the US, Israel and Morocco on Tuesday in Rabat.
“We hope that the next government will continue this positive dynamic and fuel what we have built because it was done for peace. What we have here is a package that has been signed and the first commitment that everyone made was to defend, promote, and upgrade this package. “
– Nasser Bourita to Axios
Why it matters: The US recognition of Western Sahara was a controversial move that spilled over decades of US policy. Israel and Morocco fear that if Biden reverses it, the rest of the deal could fall apart.
Situation: Biden was not happy with the deal, but he didn’t criticize it either.
The other side: Bourita claimed the deal was about peace and stability in the region, and about ending two disputes that have lasted longer than it should: the Western Sahara conflict and the Arab-Israeli stalemate. “We have to be endgame-oriented and not process-oriented,” he said.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, an American-Israeli delegation led by Jared Kushner and Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat took a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Rabat.
- Kushner and Ben-Shabat met King Mohammed VI and signed six agreements on direct flights, investment and visas.
- Morocco and Israel have pledged to reopen diplomatic representations in Tel Aviv and Rabat within two weeks, with technical delegations from both countries set to begin work next week.
- Both countries have retained existing diplomatic properties since relations were severed two decades ago, recognizing that they could one day reopen, Israeli and Moroccan officials say.
Bourita told me that Morocco stands out of the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan – which have normalized relations with Israel in recent months – as Morocco first had formal relations with Israel in the early 1990s.
- “We told our American friends from the beginning, ‘Don’t give everyone the same T-shirt.'”
- “We were pioneers in relations with Israel. For us it is a big event, but we don’t build from scratch … It’s about renewing the traditional contacts and building something that will last.”
- ‘Everything is normal now – we don’t intend to go halfway through here, ”Bourita said.
What’s next: Bourita said Morocco wants to be a bridge builder between Jews and Muslims in the region and can also assist in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
- Late King Hassan II did it and King Mohammed VI is ready to do it when the circumstances are there and when there is a request. His majesty has credibility, ”said Bourita.
Worth nothing: It was crucial for Morocco to link Israel’s normalization, a move polls suggest only a tiny slice of Moroccan support, with a much more unifying cause: recognition of Moroccan control over Western Sahara.
Go deeper: Trump gives Morocco a long-awaited breakthrough