King Mohammed VI (M6) has invested a huge amount of political capital – and the biggest Moroccan banks and corporations' money – in making one of Africa's most notable strategic pivots of recent years: changing his kingdom's traditional focus on Europe the Maghreb and the Arab world to seeing the future rooted in Morocco's sub-Saharan business social and political connections...
UN is alone in seeing hope in the western Sahara Algeria's unquestioned support for the Polisario Front liberation movement in the Western Sahara has increased as a result of King Mohammed VI's energetic self-promotion in sub-Saharan Africa...
Moroccans are now used to King Mohammed VI (M6) leading the kingdom's drive to become a political and economic heavyweight in Africa...
End of the empty chair Despite the kingdom's militant refusal to recognise the Polisario Front King Mohammed VI of Morocco sat across the table from Polisario representatives in Abidjan at the African-European summit...
Chabat refused to deal with the PJD which leads the coalition government and most of his 'secular' party rivals – led by current favourite of King Mohammed VI ('M6') multi-millionaire businessman Agriculture Minister and Rassemblement national des indépendants leader Aziz Akhannouch (AC Vol 58 No 2 Benkirane's 'bras de fer')...
Vol 58 No 13 |
- ISRAEL
- AFRICA
Nor pointedly did Morocco's King Mohammed VI whose application to join Ecowas was formally accepted at the summit...
Rebellion is stirring once more in the northern Rif region regardless of King Mohammed VI's efforts to pacify the area with big infrastructural investment such as the Tanger-Med container port and a new high-speed train...
Such issues still count in North Africa's cold war; during French election week Morocco's King Mohammed VI paid one of his regular 'private visits' to Paris where he was very publicly filmed dining with the outgoing President François Hollande and together visiting an exhibition...
For now King Mohammed VI's much anticipated move to replace Abdelilah Benkirane as Prime Minister seems to have ended a deep political crisis that lasted nearly six months...
King Mohammed VI who has led the diplomatic initiatives in Africa ordered the withdrawal to emphasise that he wanted to avoid confrontation...