King Mohammed VI Gulf tour

The Gulf tour of Morocco's King Mohammed VI has come accordantly with the King's strategy, which is aimed to guarantee stability for his country as well as the entire region. It is a well-prepared tour that reflects the modern way in which King Mohammed VI has been ruling his country since he succeeded his late father, King Hassan II in July 1999. Before deciding to go on this tour, the Moroccan monarch was keen to make sure first that the interior conditions in his country have been rearranged in the right way. He spent 13 years since his coronation supervising the implementation of several plans aimed at improving the quality of his people's living conditions. His very first goal was to guarantee welfare, freedom, dignity and women rights for the Moroccan society. He believed that the first war he had to launch should be against poverty, as he knew well that poverty is the main source of generating extremism and crime. King Mohammed VI has waited for long before starting his tour which will include Jordan in addition to the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. It is normal for Morocco and Jordan to have close relation between each other as the political and economic conditions of both countries are almost typical, which also applies for the policies both countries are adopting in addressing these conditions. However, the relations between Morocco and each of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar are of a different category. This category can be labelled by a simple term: mutual interests. The Moroccan monarch is well aware that the age of unrequited aides has gone and what he can seek now for his country is to be highly attractive for foreign investments. These investments would guarantee more job opportunities for the Moroccans and would accelerate the growth of their economy. Morocco has already succeeded in establishing relations based on mutual interests with many Arab and European countries, including Spain, although Spain in particular has failed to ensure stability for its relations with Morocco, because the Spaniards are yet to give up on their colonial delusions based on the legacy of their occupation to the Moroccan Sahara. The main reason behind Morocco's success in establishing these relations was the Moroccans' remarkable achievement in carrying out fundamental political reforms. We can see that the delegation that accompanied King Mohammed VI in his tour included cabinet members who represent almost all parties of Morocco's political spectrum. These parties have earlier competed with each other in fair parliamentary elections which resulted in a majority for the Justice and Development party. Although this party had an Islamist affiliation, it didn't prevent the party's leader, Mr Abdelilah Benkirane of chairing the cabinet. Allowing an unrestricted political competition in Morocco was a clear indication that this country has reached a point where stability has been well ingrained. This stability has granted a strong position for King Mohammed VI in his talks with the Gulf leaders, mainly because Morocco is currently a major point of attraction for international investors, particularly from the Gulf region. Morocco has steadily created an image for itself as a secure and stable country, which has an outstanding potential from an investor's point of view. The Moroccan's succeeded to make this achievement amid conditions that could be described as too complicated at least. We can just have a look to what is happening in other countries of the region like Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mauritania and Mali to realise how hard it was for Morocco to reach the point where it is now. Although Morocco was highly affected by the economic crisis in the Euro zone, which led to a considerable decrease in the financial transfers of the Moroccans living in Europe, and another decrease in the numbers of European tourists who visited the country, in addition to the failure of the latest agricultural season due to the lack of rain; All of these didn't affect the increase of foreign investments in the country, thanks mainly to the hard decisions taken by King Mohammed VI, by which he secured the right atmosphere for the huge projects that greatly serve Morocco's economy on both the medium and long terms. On top of these projects is the new port of Tangier, which is expected to be a major connecting point between Europe and Africa. In a world that talks only the language of interests, King Mohammed VI came to the Gulf region to assure that the partnership between his country and the rich states of the region will work to the favour of both parties, and that Morocco is one of the most secure places to invest in the region. Needless to say that the Moroccan monarch's talks with the Gulf leaders wouldn't be focused only on economy; of course politics would have a share. There is the Syrian crisis which is a priority for Morocco as well as all the Arabs, and the issue of the Syrian refugees, particularly in Jordan is expected to be discussed. There is also the Iranian threat which poses danger on the security of the Arabs and the Gulf states in particular, especially Bahrain. Morocco was not reluctant in cutting its relations with Iran after the latter had gone far beyond the line in its threats against the Gulf States, and the later events proved that Morocco's decision was perfectly timed. There is also the Palestinian cause, which is a daily concern for the Moroccan monarch, besides combating terrorism. Morocco has never let the Arabs down, it has always dealt with them according to a modern approach based on the mutual interests, and this approach was highly appreciated by many Arab countries like the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar; the latter in particular has recently announced an increase in its $2 billion investments in the tourism sector in Morocco. Stability is Morocco's winning card in attracting foreign investments. Thanks to this stability we have been seeing French and Spanish businessmen transferring their investments to Morocco due to the economic crisis currently escalating in their countries. Those businessmen have found Morocco a more secure place than any other European country to receive their investments, especially as the crisis in the Euro zone and the United States doesn't look to be over any soon. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.