U.S. support for Morocco further strengthened after FM Bourita’s visit this week

It was a week of diplomatic contrasts for the Maghreb. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Morocco’s FM Nasser Bourita to the State Department in Washington on Tuesday while Algeria’s FM Ahmed Attaf received Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Algiers.

With President Trump back in the White House it is hard to find a stronger diplomatic alliance in the Maghreb than the one between the U.S. and Morocco. In Trump’s first term, as King Mohammed VI recalled in his statement congratulating Trump on his election win, during his first term Trump recognized Rabat’s full sovereignty over “its entire territory in the Sahara, underlining that this memorable act, for which the Moroccan people will be forever grateful, was a milestone and a pivotal moment.” Trump made this recognition with a presidential proclamation on December 10, 2020, during which time Morocco signed onto the Abraham Accords.

This week’s high-level meetings came just a few weeks after the U.S. Congress presented a resolution in the House of Representatives to honor 250 years of friendship with Rabat, a bond that dates to the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1787. Morocco is America’s oldest ally, and it was very telling from the photos I saw posted by Rubio, showing the depth of warmth and the continuing support the U.S. offers Morocco. Rubio posted a statement on X: “Met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Bourita to re-affirm the strong U.S.-Morocco partnership. I reiterated that the U.S. recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and supports Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute.”

This was another clear signal from Washington and follows France’s decision last year to also recognize Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only way forward in discussions over Western Sahara. It will be interesting to see if other nations, particularly the UK and Italy follow suit.

This week’s meeting between Rubio and Bourita also reaffirmed the role Rabat plays alongside the Trump administration's foreign policy across North Africa, the Maghreb region and more globally, the Middle East, in promoting peace and stability.

The realignment of other US allies behind Morocco, such as Spain, Israel, and France reaffirm a collective that is emerging in addition to Ukraine and the Middle East, with Russian- and Iranian-backed militias in North Africa and the Sahel. This would cause tremendous risks for regional escalation, especially as Algeria continues its reproachment with Iran. There is a lot to ponder, and some uncertainty but there is no doubt that this week’s meeting in Washington has further strengthened Morocco and America’s relationship.

*Kieran Baker is an Emmy award winning journalist who has started up various networks including Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg TV Africa and TRT World.