The US is called upon to top into the underutilized potential of its partnership with Morocco, a country that is poised to play a more influential role at the strategic and commercial levels in Africa and the MENA region, a pundit wrote on Newsweek.
In an opinion piece entitled “U.S.-Morocco—Strategic Partnership with Room to Grow”, Lonzo Cook sheds light on the increasing importance attached by Washington to the MENA region and Africa wherein Morocco has a strategic location making it “a burgeoning hub for European-African trade.”
Thanks to its political stability and steady economic growth, Morocco stands out in a region beset by political and social turmoil, the writer said.
“These economic and political foundations underpin Morocco’s emergence as a dependable strategic nexus between the U.S. and the Middle East as well as the entire continent of Africa,” Cook said.
Morocco has also used its restored ties with Israel to work for peace in the region with the successful mediation to expand the opening of the Allenby border crossing, a strong message of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, he said.
“Morocco being viewed as an honest broker by all parties is a reflection on the quiet professionalism of its diplomatic corps as well as the credibility and respect the country and its monarch have garnered throughout the region,” he said, noting that this respect derives from Morocco’s longstanding history of religious tolerance, as well as its tradition of constructive engagement abroad with governments and political systems of widely different hues.
“This combination of strategic and commercial capabilities makes Morocco an increasingly important partner for the U.S. and its allies,” he said.