27 February 2014, 05:08 PM IST
My previous blog on foreign minister Salman Khurshid's recent visit to Morocco had raised some eyebrows regarding the utility of such a trip. Several readers have questioned the minister's north African tour – Khurshid also visited Tunisia and Sudan – at a time when he is about to demit office. However, such an analysis fails to appreciate the current situation in Africa and the Middle East, and the role being played by Morocco in regional affairs. Indeed, I predict that Morocco will also play an increasingly pivotal role in the days ahead – not only in terms of promoting socio-economic stability in the Sahara and Sahel regions, but to help actualise an international plan to broker peace in the Middle East.
Morocco's unique position is underpinned by the fact that it is at the forefront of tackling three critical issues spanning Africa and the Arab world. First, there is clear evidence to suggest that several nations in the Maghreb and Sahel face serious threats from radical Islamist militancy. The US-led military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade forced Islamist militants to take shelter in north Africa and its surrounding regions.
Then came the Arab Spring wave that swept aside several autocratic leaders from power. And it is here that Muammar Gaddafi's death in the Libyan civil war had a huge impact on regional security. With Gaddafi out of the way, huge caches of arms harboured by the deposed regime flooded the Sahara and Sahel, providing a fillip to armed militias of different stripes.
With a deadly cocktail of arms and militants pouring into Africa, the situation became ripe for a major confrontation. Such a conflict materialised in Mali where militants affiliated to al Qaeda took advantage of the tensions between Bamako and a nationalist Tuareg movement to make serious inroads in that country. In fact, the radical Islamists tried to impose their fundamentalist writ in northern Mali, exposing the dangers that the rising spectre of jihadism posed. With countries ranging from Somalia to Algeria sporting fertile conditions for an Islamist upsurge, the international community couldn't sit back and do nothing.
This is precisely what motivated the French and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) military intervention in Mali last year. The international military coalition eventually pushed out the Islamists from northern Mali. But the crisis represented a veritable example of what lies in store for the international community if the Islamist scourge goes unchecked. At the same time, stakeholders in Africa also recognised that fighting jihadi terror required a long-term solution, as opposed to ad hoc military interventions.
This is where Morocco comes in. Inspired and led by King Mohammed VI, Morocco has taken it upon itself to stabilise the situation in Mali through a host of bilateral initiatives. This includes training the Malian army for counter-terrorism/ counter-insurgency operations, mediating a political truce between Bamako and the rebel Tuaregs in Mali's north and cooperating with the Malian government to develop diverse sectors such as trade, banking, health, education, etc. But most importantly, in order to counter the spread of radical Wahhabi ideology, Morocco has agreed to train 500 Malian imams in its own brand of moderate Maliki Islam. This initiative, in particular, needs to be lauded and expanded in scope to fight the shadow of Islamic extremism that looms over Africa – something that was highlighted yet again with the recent Boko Haram attack on school students in Nigeria.
The second area where Morocco is making significant contributions is inter-African cooperation. As part of his latest four-nation African tour, in his recent speech at the Morocco- Côte d'Ivoire Economic Forum, King Mohammed VI emphasised on the need for greater South-South collaborations. Urging African leaders to take their destiny in their own hands, the King asserted that Africa did not need humanitarian aid as much as mutually profitable partnerships. Pitching for solidarity between African peoples and respect for states' territorial sovereignty, the King outlined a new paradigm of African unity and development.
This is interesting given that Morocco is not part of the African Union (earlier Organisation of African Unity). Although a founder-member of the pan-African organisation, Morocco relinquished its membership in 1984 following the admission of the nebulous and controversial Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. In any case, it is well recognised that over the years the African Union had become an old boys' club for Libya's Gaddafi and his fantastical illusions. If the dream of African unity and cooperation is to remain relevant today, it would be greatly helped by Morocco's leadership under King Mohammed VI.
The third area where Morocco is quietly playing a constructive role is the Palestine-Israel conflict. King Mohammed VI is the chairman of the Al Quds Committee, which is a branch of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The body is tasked with implementing all OIC resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the 20th session of the Al Quds Committee held in January, King Mohammed VI made some interesting observations.
He called upon the Al Quds to become a permanent mechanism of the OIC to catalyse the Palestine-Israel peace process. He further pledged his support to the Palestine National Authority led by its President Mahmoud Abbas and urged efforts towards the creation of an independent Palestine state living side by side in concord with Israel. King Mohammed VI also called on the committee members to join forces to foil the designs of extremist groups that exploit the Arab-Israeli conflict for vested interests and terrorism.
Seen in the context of the latest US-sponsored efforts to fast track Palestine-Israel negotiations for a peace deal within a specific time frame, King Mohammed VI's Al Quds address was a clear endorsement of the two-state solution. Add to this ongoing negotiations between the West and Iran over the latter's nuclear programme, and it is easy to see that Morocco through the Al Quds Committee is trying to shepherd all Arab stakeholders in Palestine towards a common platform for permanent peace in the Middle East.
Taken together, it is clear that Morocco is playing an extremely crucial role in both Africa and the Arab world. Why is this important for India? Although it has legitimate interests in Africa and the Middle East, New Delhi has very little strategic capital in the region compared to some of the other players. Yet, as the largest democracy in the world, India can bring a fresh perspective to regional issues here. This is precisely why it needs to partner with Morocco. And it is in this context that foreign minister Khurshid's recent visit to Rabat was so significant. Enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries would not only benefit traditional stakeholders in Africa and the Middle East but also greatly expand India's strategic space in the region.
Hence, this is not about minister Khurshid himself. Should the opposition BJP come to power following the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, it would do well to make relations with Morocco – and by extension with the larger Middle East and Africa – an area of priority. This will also help India book its place at the high table of international diplomacy.
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