Abdeljalil SAUBRY: Morocco isn’t afraid of change or reform

The Kingdom of Morocco is the first African country to have held a summit with the European Union, signed an association and FTA agreements. Morocco is a member of NATO and takes part in numerous operations of the Alliance. How did Morocco succeed in cooperating with the EU? What lessons did this country learn from the Arab Spring? More on this in the following exclusive interview with the Moroccan Ambassador to Ukraine, Abdeljalil SAUBRY.

“For historical reasons, geographical proximity, and economic importance, Europe has always been a major partner for Morocco in its external relations with the world.

“The Morocco-EU relations are old, multidimensional and of strategic importance. In fact, the EU is Morocco’s first partner in all fields whether it is trade, investment, tourism or cultural cooperation. Also, the majority of the Moroccan Diaspora (around 3 million people) lives in the European-Union.

“The first negotiations between Morocco and the EU took place in the early 1960s, following the signing of the Rome Treaty, a few years only after Morocco’s independence.

“The evolution of these relations was marked by the signing of a series of successive agreements, which, every time, were broadened, deepened and enriched by the inclusion of new fields and mechanisms of cooperation: Commercial agreement in 1969, Cooperation agreement in 1976, and the Association agreement in 1996. This latter, which came into force in 2000 after a series of ratifications, is a comprehensive agreement that includes the establishment of a political dialog; an economic, cultural, and social cooperation; instruments for financial cooperation; as well as a Free Trade Area over a period of 12 years.

“Morocco’s choice for Europe derives from a strategic vision that was clearly defined by His Majesty the King, who declared that the framework governing the Moroccan-EU relations must be more than the association agreement, reviewed and corrected, and again for some time, less than the membership.

“In October 2008, a joint document between Morocco and the European Union on the establishment of an Advanced Status marked a new step and a qualitative leap for our relations with the Union. The Advanced status is an important support to the internal process of democratization and modernization launched by the Kingdom. The Advanced Status aims at strengthening cooperation and political dialog, establishing a common economic area, developing cultural and human exchanges, as well as enabling Morocco to participate in the European Union’s programs and agencies.

“It is in this context, that a Morocco-EU Summit was held in Granada, Spain in 2010, becoming the first Summit of its kind between the EU and a country from the South of the Mediterranean Sea.”

How do you see the EU’s roadmap on its relations with its southern neighbors?

“Europe’s new neighboring policy has pertinent objectives. The Kingdom of Morocco believes that this policy should take into account the specificities and experiences of each of these Mediterranean countries, in terms of democratic transition, economic and social modernization.

“It is also important that the European Union puts enough financial means to meet the planned objectives, and that it takes into account, according to the principle of differentiation, the progress, the needs and capacities of each of the partners.

“The Union for the Mediterranean, whose Secretariat General is held by Morocco, is the ideal framework for strengthening the regional integration of both coasts of the Mediterranean. The Kingdom of Morocco actively participates in all the initiatives organized within this framework, and believes that all member countries must show greater involvement in order to concretize the important projects defined by this Organization.”

There were several revolutions in neighboring North African countries. What can you tell us about these revolutions and what were the lessons for Morocco?

“Morocco supports the aspirations of the Arab people for freedom, democracy and dignity. Yet, Morocco does not fear changes or reforms. Amid these movements, Morocco stands out remarkably with its significant specificities:

“First of all, the Moroccan Monarchy is more than a millennium old, therefore, one of the most ancient monarchies in the world. It acts as a true guarantor of the national unity, the State’s continuity, and the Moroccan identity with all its different components. For 12 centuries, Morocco has been a monarchy with permanent State institutions, a capital city, a currency and all elements of sovereignty.

“The one-party system has been banned in Morocco since independence, and political life has always evolved in a context of pluralism, diversity of opinion and economic liberalism.

“Morocco has sound operational political institutions, around 30 parties embracing all political factions, more than 20 trade unions and an active opposition allowing for a real democratic and political life. Back in 1996, Morocco has already undergone a real government alternation, which brought into power the leftist opposition and which took place peacefully and democratically.

“Reforms are a tradition in Morocco and have nothing to do with the Arab spring. In fact, the Kingdom has committed itself, for several years now, to a wide range of reforms aimed at consolidating the democratic process and the modernization of society.

“In this regard, three major reforms initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI can be given as examples. They are, indeed, real historical revolutions and have been unanimously welcomed by the international community.

“First of all, the Family Code, already established in 2004, introduced the concepts of: equal rights between men and women within the family, shared responsibility, and the protection of children’s rights

“The second example is the creation of a commission called the Equity and Reconciliation Commission. Established in 2007, it is a unique experience in the Arab world. It is a courageous initiative to solve all human rights violation-related cases since the independence of the country in 1956 until 1999. Including all components of the political and civil society and chaired by a former political prisoner, this Commission spent two and a half years working on pending cases of Human rights violation, and making recommendations for the consolidation the rule of law and respect of Human rights. This experience initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2006, differs from other similar experiences throughout the world, in the sense that it is a peaceful change within the historical continuity.

“The third reform is the establishment of an Advanced Regionalization process, which, through autonomy in decision making and management, aims at modernizing the structures of the State, ensuring their development and strengthening integrated local and regional democracy.

“Nowadays, Morocco is committed to a new generation of democratic reforms that were initiated as part of a comprehensive and profound revision of the constitution. A referendum was held last July and led to the adoption by a large majority of a new constitution. This latter consolidates the foundations of the Moroccan identity through the introduction of the Amazigh as an official language along with Arabic, the reinforcement of individual and collective freedoms, independence of justice, the separation of powers, the consolidation of the principle of nominating the Head of the Government from the winning party during the elections, broadening the Parliament’s powers in terms of legislation and control and the reinforcement of the status of the Prime Minister who became the Head of Government.

“This reform also consolidates the compliance to the new constitution by the national Human rights institutions (such as the National council for Human Rights), good governance (Competition Council) and freedoms.”

Morocco is a partner of the NATO. How did the relations with the Alliance evolve and how does Morocco perceive the future of the Organization?

“Relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and NATO stem from a political and strategic choice made by Morocco since its independence.

“Morocco is a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), in which it has an active role in the political dialogue and practical cooperation. The MD represents a useful framework for strengthening mutual understanding and consolidating trust between the partners.

“Morocco’s cooperation with NATO reflects its desire to participate in the world peace cause, namely in the neighboring areas. That is why Morocco participated in the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and also took part in the Active Endeavour Operation whose aim was to deter terrorist activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

“Together with other partners, Morocco participates, within the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, in the reflection initiated by the Alliance on NATO’s new Strategic Concept. In this regard, it is worth underlining the importance of extending the partnership to cover other types of threats such as piracy and all kinds of trafficking, as well as to increase the involvement of the partners in the Alliance’s decision making process.”

How did Morocco solve the language issue? Is it important to have one single official language?

“There is no particular problem regarding the language in Morocco. Arabic, which was the only official language, was comforted by the Amazigh language which became an official language along with Arabic, following the reform of the Constitution on July 2011.

“This being said, Morocco has always been a country open to its environment and Moroccan people generally enjoy learning foreign languages. Practicing foreign languages like French, Spanish or English is very common especially in urban areas.

“The reasons are numerous: historical: presence of the French colonialism in the center and the Spanish colonialism in the North and in the Sahara in the South; touristic: Morocco welcomes around 8 million tourists each year, mostly from Europe; geographical: the European Continent is only 14km away from the northern coasts of Morocco. Not to mention the presence of a large Moroccan community in the countries of the European Union.”

What can you tell us about your mission in Ukraine? Did your opinion about Ukraine change since you arrived?

“First of all, it was a great honor to be nominated Ambassador by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in an important country such as Ukraine, one of the oldest counties in the region with a fascinating culture and traditions.

“My opinion about Ukraine was not very clear at the beginning, but as I started discovering the country upon my arrival a few years ago, I realized how friendly, kind, outgoing, and hospitable the Ukrainian people are.

“I was also amazed by the beauty and diversity of the scenery as well as the richness of the culture.”

What is your assessment of the Moroccan-Ukrainian relations? What are the difficulties you faced during your mandate and what are the achievements?

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Ukraine. They are indeed young relations.

“As I have often said before, our political relations are excellent, at both the bilateral level and at the level of cooperation within the International Organization. Our views converge on many global issues. We established a political dialog which takes place quite regularly between our two countries during the bilateral political consultations and within international organizations.

“It would be wise to take advantage of this situation to further develop our economic and cultural cooperation, which is complementary in many fields and full of potential.

“Two prerequisites seem of importance to me in order to achieve this goal.

“First, it is of the essence to develop a better understanding of each other namely through increasing the visits in all fields and sectors.

“These visits will ease contact between businessmen, who unfortunately do not have the opportunity to meet very often. The reflection about creating a Moroccan-Ukrainian Business Council is ongoing. It will provide an appropriate space for enterprises and businessmen from both sides to meet.

“The second prerequisite is the establishment of a legal framework covering all the existing fields of cooperation and potential. In this regard, I think important progress has been made during the past 6 years, we moved from 6 to 12 signed agreements and a dozen is being finalized or in negotiation. In 2009, an Intergovernmental Commission was created and held its first session in Rabat in 2008. This Commission covers the cooperation in the political, economic, cultural, educational and scientific fields and offers the appropriate framework for opening possibilities for more cooperation. The holding of the Intergovernmental Commission’s second session is planned for this year.

“We hope that the opening of a direct air connection between Kyiv and Casablanca will soon take place. It will undoubtedly facilitate contacts between economic operators and stimulate tourist flows.”

What are the fields of interest for Morocco in Ukraine?

“As I mentioned earlier, there is so much potential for cooperation.

“Agriculture for example represents an important, if not, a priority sector for the economy of both countries. This cooperation could include agricultural materials and machinery of which Ukraine is a good producer, as well as irrigation technologies.

“Tourism, shipbuilding, mining, and oil exploration are also among the most promising fields of cooperation.

“Commercial trade remains relatively modest, but offers many complementarities that need to be taken advantage of. It is the case for phosphates, sea products, fresh or processed fruits and vegetables, handicraft goods of which Morocco is an exporter. As far as Ukraine is concerned it has metals, wood, cereals, and chemical products.”

What are your sources of information about Ukraine?

“We live in an era of new technologies, and, as you know, the media represents a major source of information.

“The press, whether it is written or audio-visual, and the numerous online newspapers offer today a space for expressing various opinions, thus offering an important source of information and analysis.

“Besides, the different work relations with the Ukrainian authorities, the business circles, and the civil society actors are also very useful information channels

“Also, the travels and visits that I make from time to time in various regions of Ukraine keep me updated of the economic and social evolution of Ukraine, the progress made and the existing potential which can be exploited to enhance our bilateral cooperation.”

How do you spend your free time?

“I spend an important share of my free time with my family. We often go out to discover more of Ukraine with its diverse landscapes and the richness of its history and culture.

“At a more personal level, I enjoy reading, good movies and sports. I am also a fan of photography. I very often wander around Kyiv or other parts of the country with my camera. It allows me to see the city differently.”