Washington DC- As King Mohammed VI furthers his country’s diplomatic and economic presence in sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania feels ignored and “deliberately” over-looked by its bigger neighbor to the north. Nouakchott is especially uneasy with the recently signed military agreement between Morocco and Mali.
For Rabat, the Moroccan Monarch’s repeated snubbing of Mauritania makes diplomatic sense. After all, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Gabon publicly back Morocco’s position on the “Western Sahara” conflict, while Nouakchott recognizes the self-declared Saharan Republic.
Even though Nouakchott has denied news reports regarding a withdrawal of the last Mauritanian diplomats from Rabat, relations between the two counties have remained tense. After a short honey moon following the arrival of President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz to power, the Sahara conflict and Algerian pressures soured the entente.
Military cooperation between the Moroccan Armed Forces and its Malian counterparts is part of the large assistance package signed between the two countries. Morocco and Mauritian share long borders and the arrival of Moroccan forces in Mali won’t tip the geo-military balance in the Sahel. In fact, the persistent transit of the Algeria backed Polisario fighters across Mauritanian territory is more worrisome.
The security crises in the Sahel and the proliferation of terror groups in the Grand Sahara and Northern Mali have redrawn the geopolitical map of the region. Algeria, entering an increasingly volatile domestic political period, is losing its leadership role, while Mauritania’s reluctant role and ambiguous positions during the French military operation in Mali has tarnished its image as an honest broker. Today, Rabat stands as a credible and reliable force in the Sahel and the Sahara.
The Moroccan rapprochement with Mali is a normal extension of the Kingdom’s diplomatic and military influence in a region vital to its interests. Bamako’s decision to move closer to Rabat is an attempt to counter Algiers’s constant interferences in Malian affairs, especially Algerian Intelligence continuous support to the extremist group Ansar Eddine. In essence, the new Moroccan-Malian military alliance is not directed against Mauritania.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz should applaud King Mohammed VI’s reconciliation efforts to bring the Malian Touareg rebels and the central government to agree on a solution to the crisis in the north. Despite its desire to play a larger role in Mali, Mauritania, which host several armed Malian Touareg and Arab militias, is not well position to mediate.
Mauritanians’s resentment is unjustified and their security concerns are unwarranted. The political aim of Morocco’s diplomatic offensive in Africa is to explain and publicize its Local Autonomy Plan for the Sahara. Instead of complaining about the King’s African engagements, President Ould Abdelaziz, as the incoming chairman of the African Union, should invest in a plan to bring back the Kingdom to the Pan African organization.
If Algeria kept Mali in its orbit for years using the specter of a Touareg rebellion as an intimidation tool, Morocco will not utilize its rapprochement with Bamako to bully Mauritania into supporting the Kingdom’s Local Autonomy Plan for the Sahara.
The new emerging Rabat-Bamako-Abidjan axis is not aimed at Mauritania’s interests and will not disturb the strategic balance in the Sahel. A strong Moroccan presence in Mali will ensure security and stability along the 2000 km Mauritanian-Malian borders.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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