Australia–Morocco relations

Diplomatic relations between Australia and Morocco were established in 1976. Morocco has had an embassy in Canberra since 2004 and the Australian Embassy in Rabat was established in May 2017, upgrading the existing Austrade office in Rabat.[1] Previously the Australian Embassy in Paris was accredited to Morocco since 1978.

Australia–Morocco relations
Map indicating locations of Australia and Morocco

Australia
Morocco
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Australia, RabatEmbassy of Morocco, Canberra
Envoy
Ambassador Michael CuttsAmbassador Wassane Zailachi

Diplomatic relations
See also: List of ambassadors of Morocco to Australia and List of ambassadors of Australia to Morocco

On 13 July 1976, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Andrew Peacock, announced the release of a joint statement marking the establishment of diplomatic relations with Morocco as "a mark of the desire of both countries to consolidate and strengthen mutual understanding and to stimulate cultural and commercial links."[2] On 6 October 1978 the acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ian Sinclair, announced the appointment of John Rowland, the serving Australian Ambassador to France, as the non-resident accredited Ambassador to Morocco.[3] Rowland presented his credentials as ambassador to King Hassan II of Morocco on 19 February 1981.[4]

The Moroccan Embassy to Indonesia in Jakarta was initially given responsibility for relations with Australia in 1997 with the Ambassador to Indonesia, Omar Hilale, presenting his credentials as the non-resident ambassador to Australia in 1997. In 2004, King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced the establishment of a Moroccan Embassy in Canberra and the first Ambassador, Badre Eddine Allali, presented his credentials to the Governor General of Australia on 24 November 2005.[5] The Moroccan embassy is also accredited to Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.

Australian official visits
  • The first Australian official visit to Morocco occurred when a Parliamentary Delegation visited the country alongside Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria from 9 November to 3 December 1993. The delegation consisted of Delegation Leader Bob Brown (MP for Charlton), Deputy Leader John Moore (MP for Ryan), Senator Gerry Jones, Senator Baden Teague, Daryl Melham (MP for Banks), and Bruce Scott (MP for Maranoa).[6]
  • A more substantial visit occurred from 27 August to 9 September 2006 with an Australian Parliamentary Delegation led by Warren Entsch (MP for Leichhardt). The delegation also consisted of Deputy Leader Simon Crean (MP for Hotham) and Alan Griffin (MP for Bruce).[7]
  • Peter Garrett, the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, visited Morocco to attend the 62nd session of the International Whaling Commission held in Agadir from 21 to 25 June 2010.[5]
  • Peter Slipper, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, visited from 15 to 20 April 2011 and John Hogg, Australian Senate President, visited from 18 to 20 July 2011.[5]
  • Bob Carr, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited Morocco in the first high-level visit to the country in June 2012.[5]
  • A Parliamentary Delegation headed by Dr Sharman Stone (MP for Murray) to Morocco occurred from 7 to 14 November 2012.[8]
  • Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited Morocco for the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech from 7–18 November 2016, announcing the opening of an Australian Embassy in Rabat at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar.[9]

Moroccan official visits
  • First ministerial visit of the Moroccan Minister of Youth and Sports to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in September 2000.[5]
  • Visit of a Moroccan parliamentary delegation headed by Abdelwahad Radi, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 6–11 August 2007.[5]
  • Following Foreign Minister Carr's visit in June 2012, Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Saadeddine Othmani, visited Australia from 12 to 16 June 2012, the first such visit by a Moroccan Foreign Minister.[10]

Australian embassy

In February 2012, the Australian Parliament Foreign Affairs Sub-committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade undertook an inquiry into the state of Australia's overseas postings. The Ambassador of Morocco to Australia, Mohamed Mael-Ainin, subsequently made a submission to the inquiry arguing for the establishment of an Australian embassy in Morocco, noting: "An Australian embassy in Rabat, like all other great powers, will give an impetus to our ascending bilateral cooperation as well as facilitate Australia’s interests in neighbouring countries, especially French-speaking countries, in Africa."[11] The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also noted to the committee that "an embassy in Morocco would increase Australia’s capacity to engage with a significant player in North Africa, including in the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation."

The subsequent report of the committee, entitled Australia’s Overseas Representation – Punching below our weight?, observed in its recommendations that "there is merit in opening an embassy in Morocco to serve the Maghreb and notes that this is in DFAT’s plans for an expanded network should it receive sufficient funds."[12]

On 12 May 2017, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced the establishment of the Australian Embassy in Rabat and Berenice Owen-Jones as the new ambassador (taking up office in June 2017), noting that this appointment would be "an important addition to Australia’s diplomatic presence in Africa and part of the single largest expansion of our diplomatic network in 40 years."[13]

Michael Cutts has been the Australian ambassador to Morocco since 4 September 2020.[14][15]

Trade and investment
Monthly value of Australian merchandise exports to Morocco (A$ millions) since 1988[16]

Trade between Morocco and Australia is small but growing, with total merchandise trade between the two countries for 2015–16 being AUD$79,307, an increase of 17.2%. Major Australian exports to Morocco includes meat and sugars, honey and molasses, while major Moroccan exports to Australia include crude and processed fertilisers.[17]

Defence relations

Ties between the Australian Defence Force and the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces are limited. In June 2015, HMAS Anzac visited Casablanca in a rare visit to Morocco by an Australian naval vessel.[18] In May 2011, a delegation from the Royal Moroccan Navy visited Australia to view Armidale-class patrol boats as a potential replacement to their existing patrol boat fleet.[19]

In 1991, Australia sent 45 military personnel to serve as the Force Communications Unit of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Australian contingent was withdrawn in 1994. On 21 June 1993, Army Doctor Major Susan Felsche, of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, was killed in a Medical Unit aircraft crash, while serving in MINURSO.[20]

There is a single Australian war grave in Morocco, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Flying Officer Leo George Hardiman, attached to No. 145 Maintenance Unit RAF, was killed in an accident on active service on 30 November 1944, and was buried at Ben M'Sik European Cemetery in Casablanca.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Austrade's office in Morocco". Austrade offices. Australian Trade Commission. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  2. "Diplomatic Relations With Morocco" (News Release). Minister for Foreign Affairs - Hon. Andrew Peacock M.P. Parlinfo: Australian Government. 13 July 1976. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  3. "Appointment of Ambassador to Morocco" (News Release). Minister for Foreign Affairs - Rt. Hon. Ian Sinclair M.P. Parlinfo: Australian Government. 6 October 1978. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  4. "Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 52 (2): 96. February 1981. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  5. "Bilateral Relations – Morocco-Australia". Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco, Canberra. Kingdom of Morocco. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  6. Brown, Robert (6 June 1994). "DELEGATION REPORTS – Delegation to Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco" (Hansard). House of Representatives. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  7. "DELEGATION REPORTS – Parliamentary Delegation to Morocco and Algeria and to the 52nd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, Nigeria" (Hansard). House of Representatives. Parliament of Australia. 27 November 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  8. Stone, Sharman (18 March 2013). "DELEGATION REPORTS – Parliamentary Delegation to the Kingdom of Morocco and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria" (Hansard). House of Representatives. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  9. "COP22: Australia To Open Embassy in Morocco To Foster Partnership". The North Africa Post. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. "MOROCCAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AUSTRALIA". The Middle East Times. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  11. "MAEL-AININ, His Excellency Mr Mohamed, Moroccan Ambassador – Australia's overseas representation" (Hansard). Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Parliament of Australia. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  12. "Inquiry into Australia's Overseas Representation". House of Representatives Committees > Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Parliament of Australia. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  13. Bishop, Julie (12 May 2017). "Ambassador to Morocco". Minister for Foreign Affairs. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original (Media Release) on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  14. "Ambassador to Morocco". Minister of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  15. "Australian Embassy in". morocco.embassy.gov.au. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  16. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013, ‘Morocco - Merchandise Exports, Country and Country Groups, FOB Value’, table 14a, International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, cat. no. 5368.0, ABS, Canberra, December, column 151.
  17. "Fact Sheet: MOROCCO" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  18. "Australian frigate visits Morocco". Department of Defence. Navy Daily. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  19. Bode, Mark (7 June 2011). "Slipper puts his foot in it". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  20. "UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) 1991 – 1994". War History. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  21. "Roll of Honour: Leo George Hardiman". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
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