West Asia Experts Group Meeting

The West Asia Experts Group Meeting was held on 6 October 2022 by the Vivekananda International Foundation, the discussion was focused on "Morocco’s Foreign Policy and India-Morocco Relations". The key speaker for the session was Mr. Mohamed Maliki, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to India. The members attending and contributing were Amb. Anil Trigunayat (Coordinator); Amb. D P Srivastava; Amb. Satish Chandra; Dr. Meena Singh Roy; Dr. Sreeradha Datta; Vice Admiral Satish Soni; Lt. Gen. Ata Hasnain; Brig. Vinod Anand; Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney and Director, VIF, Dr. Arvind Gupta.

Morocco is one of the oldest states in the world that lies at the intersection of Africa; Arab world and Europe. Morocco’s foreign policy outlook is rooted in its history and the kingdom sent emissaries to other states since 1600s. Notably, Morocco was one of the first states to recognise the US in 1777. Morocco’s foreign policy is based on cooperation and developing friendly ties with other states. At the same time, it is highly assertive about protecting its territorial sovereignty and independence. The speaker briefly touched upon the kingdom’s political trajectory during French Protectorate and post-independence period. The discussion also talked about Morocco’s strategic interests in the Western Sahara region.

Morocco and India are ancient societies and share civilizational bonds. Both states are working together to intensify the level of engagement and trade volume especially in the automobile sector, fertilizers, phosphates, fiber optics etc. Indian firms in recent years are increasingly investing in Moroccan economy.Both states have maintained high level institutional mechanisms such as Joint Commission Mechanisms and Foreign Office Consultations for dialogue. Cultural exchanges, training and capacity building programmes, scholarship schemes have been regularised. In terms of defence cooperation, Indian naval vessels have visited Morocco and participated in maritime patrol exercises. Both states have also appointed defence attaches and deeply interestedin heightening cooperation in defence industry.