Morocco–Russia relations

Morocco–Russia relations (Arabic: العلاقات المغربية الروسية, Russian: Российско-марокканские отношения) are the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Russia Federation. Morocco has an embassy in Moscow, while Russia has an embassy in Rabat and a consulate general in Casablanca.

Morocco–Russia relations
Map indicating locations of Morocco and Russia

Morocco
Russia

History

Imperial period
Moroccan embassy in Moscow in 1901.

Bilateral relations between Russia and Morocco have traditionally been very good since the 18th century. Then the mutual relations began with the exchange of goods between the empires of Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah and Empress Catherine II.[1] In 1897, the Russian Empire established a consulate in Tangier.[2] In 1906, Arthur Cassini participated in the Algeciras Conference as the representative of the Russian Empire. The Russian delegation supported the French position unequivocally in the First Moroccan Crisis.[3] In the late Tsarist years, Russia supported the French colonial position in Morocco.[4]

Soviet period

In the course of the 1920s, the Soviet-sponsored Comintern supported Jacques Doriots' (then a communist) campaign against the French colonial presence in Morocco.[5] Additionally, in the 1920s and the 1930s, the Soviet Union did not sign the Tangier Protocol.

During the Cold War, Morocco was one of the Soviet Union's most important trading partners in Africa.[6]

In the early 1960s, Soviet-Moroccan relations were developing very well.[7] During the 1964 Moscow protest, approximately 50 Moroccan students broke into the embassy of Morocco in the Soviet Union in Moscow and staged an all‐day sit-in protesting against death sentences handed down by a Moroccan court in Rabat.[8]

In 1978, the Soviet Union invested heavily in the mining industry of Morocco.[9]

In the context of Western Sahara War, Moscow backed "the inalienable rights of the population of Western Sahara to self-determination".[10][11] King Hassan II of Morocco said in 1980 that Morocco and the Soviet Union are "at war" in the sense that Soviet arms were supplied to Algeria, which were being shipped by Algeria to the Polisario Front.[12]

Current relations
Moroccan King Mohammed VI with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2016.

In the 2000s, the bilateral trade relations widened significantly, especially in the mining and agriculture sector.

The current President Vladimir Putin had paid a visit to Morocco in September 2006 in order to boost economic and military ties between Russia and Morocco. Morocco-Russian relations are still in constant development, while trade between the two countries reached over two billion dollars in 2011.[13] In March 2016, King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited Russia and met with President Putin.[14] Both sides signed an agreement on mutual protection of secret information.[15]

After a significant decline in tourism from Europe, the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco is planning to attract more travelers from Russia.[16]

In 2019, the Moroccan and the Russian government agreed on investing into an oil refinery in Mohammedia, that was defunct since 2015. So equipped with a refining capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day, the refinery should later be able to reach 200,000 barrels per day by exploiting the Nador Port facilities. This expansion promises to deliver a number of trickle-down effects, including boosting job creation and infrastructure development, particularly in Morocco's northern regions.[17]

Morocco and the Russia signed a new fisheries cooperation agreement in 2020, after a former agreement signed in 2016, expired in March. The new agreement, spanning 4 years, is the 8th of its kind since 1992, and establishes the legal framework allowing a fleet of 10 Russian vessels to fish for small pelagic species in Moroccan waters beyond 15 nautical miles.[18]

During the coronavirus pandemic, the cooperation between Morocco and the Russian Federation was highlighted after the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine in January 2021.[19]

During Russo-Ukrainian war

Morocco chose not to participate in the UN vote that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[20] Morocco said it was concerned about the military escalation in Ukraine emphasizing that it encourages all initiatives and actions promoting a peaceful settlement of conflicts and 37% of Moroccans want to keep ties with Russia.[21] A former Moroccan prisoner of war who has naturalized Ukrainian citizenship was sentenced to death by a Donetsk People's Republic court.[22]

Diplomatic missions

Russia has an embassy in Rabat, and a consular office in Casablanca. Morocco is represented in Russia by its embassy to Moscow.

The Russian embassy is located in Rabat.[23]

The Moroccan embassy is located in Moscow.[24]

See also

References
  1. Hamid Ait El Caid: Morocco-Russia relations: who is in more need of the other?, moroccoworldnews.com, 27 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. Paul du Quenoy: Tidings from a Faraway East: The Russian Empire and Morocco, in: The International History Review, Vol. 33 (2011), No. 2, pp. 185–203 (here: 188/189).
  3. Paul du Quenoy: Tidings from a Faraway East: The Russian Empire and Morocco, in: The International History Review, Vol. 33 (2011), No. 2, pp. 185–203 (here: 194).
  4. David Stevenson: 1914–1918: The History of the First World War, London 2004, p. 66.
  5. Susan Whitney: Mobilizing Youth: Communists and Catholics in Interwar France, Durham (NC) 2009, p. 39.
  6. Stephen Zunes/Jacob Mundy: Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution, Syracuse 2010, p. 85.
  7. Saadia Touval: The Boundary Politics of Independent Africa, Cambridge 1999, p. 128.
  8. Article, nytimes.com, 20 March 1964. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  9. Brian Pockney: Soviet Trade with the Third World, in: Edgar Feuchtwanger/Peter Nailor (eds.): Soviet Union and the Third World, London 1981, pp. 30-78 (here: p: 54).
  10. Africa and International Communism. Macmillan. 1980. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-333-29121-4.
  11. Yahia Zoubir: Soviet Policy toward the Western Sahara Conflict, in: Africa Today, Vol. 34 (1987), No. 3, pp. 17–32.
  12. L. Roberts Sheldon: Morocco says it's 'at war' with Soviet Union, csmonitor.com, 6 May 1980. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  13. Russia’s ambassador in Rabat says relations with Morocco are "excellent", moroccoworldnews.com, 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  14. Ahmed Charai: What's at Stake in Morocco's Royal Trip to Russia, nationalinterest.org, 15 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  15. Russia, Morocco sign agreements on mutual protection of secret information, rbth.com, 15 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  16. Daniel A. Tanner: Morocco Wants to Increase Numbers of Russian Tourists, tourism-review.com, 4 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  17. Dario Cristiani: Exploiting the Vacuums: Russia and North Africa in the Wake of the Sochi Summit, jamestown.org, 20 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  18. "Morocco, Russia Sign New Fisheries Cooperation Agreement". Aawsat.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  19. "Morocco, Kenya approve Russian coronavirus vaccine for use - RDIF". Reuters. 18 January 2021.
  20. "North Africa as a 'perfect' microcosm of the effects of Russia-Ukraine war". The Africa Report. 20 April 2022.
  21. "Survey: Despite Ukraine War, 37% of Moroccans Want To Keep Ties With Russia".
  22. "Russian-backed separatist court sentences foreign fighters captured in Ukraine to death". Axios. 9 June 2022.
  23. "Embassy of Russia in Rabat". Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  24. "Embassy of Morocco in Moscow". Retrieved 26 January 2022.
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