“Morocco’s strategic role in promoting stability in the Sahel is central to tackling transnational threats,” according to a RUSI analysis authored by Beatriz de León Cobo, Nicholas Hopton, and Burcu Ozcelik, three eminent experts from the think tank specializing in military and security issues.
Morocco’s dynamic, forward-looking role is reinforced by a number of initiatives launched by the Kingdom, including the Atlantic Initiative, which aims to promote regional security cooperation, says the London-based think tank.
According to the research center, Morocco has emerged, in recent years, as a key player in supporting stability in the Sahel, leveraging its strategic position, deep historical ties, and economic and infrastructure development partnerships.
In this context, the think tank recalls the important meeting organized last December at RUSI’s London headquarters on “The geopolitics of the Sahel: transnational threats, security, and stability,” during which several British, European, and African experts combed through the stabilizing role played by Morocco in the region.
“As a historical bridge between North and West Africa, Morocco is uniquely positioned to act as a stabilizing force, using a mix of diplomatic, economic, and security tools to support sustainable development and security in the Sahel,” notes the center, pointing out that Morocco has taken a number of strategic steps to become a key security partner for the UK and Europe.
The Atlantic Initiative, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which aims in particular to provide landlocked Sahel countries with access to vital maritime trade routes via Morocco’s Atlantic port infrastructure, remains, according to RUSI, one of the “most ambitious” steps taken by Rabat.
The plan aims to foster economic regional integration to reduce dependence on unstable transit routes while fostering Morocco’s ties with its southern neighbors to counter instability, terrorism, and illicit trafficking in the region in the long term, explains the think tank. Economic integration and stability would align with the UK’s interest in promoting stability and security for the region’s peoples, according to the same source.
The London-based center also points out that Morocco’s engagement with the Sahel is also deeply embedded in broader geo-economic partnerships to strengthen regional integration, such as the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which aims to connect West African energy resources to North Africa and Europe.
“While there are many security, political and diplomatic challenges facing the region, Morocco’s investments in infrastructure, banking, and telecommunications illustrate its commitment to economic interdependence to counter extremism and promote sustainable partnerships,” according to the same source.
For Beatriz de León Cobo, access to Morocco’s ports for Sahel countries offers a “critical corridor to global markets, reducing their reliance on other neighbors.”
After recalling the threats facing the region, the researcher emphasized the importance of Morocco’s commitment to the Sahel, a commitment that is reflected on the ground in development aid and investment in infrastructure. Thanks to these initiatives, Morocco has established itself as a “reliable partner” for countries in the region, said Ms. de León Cobo.
Access to Morocco’s port infrastructure offers the region’s landlocked countries “critical” access to world markets, she argued, citing other investment projects launched in the region with Morocco’s support, including an energy project in Niger. “Morocco’s support helped reinforce Niger’s energy sovereignty,” she Ms. de León Cobo said.
The British research center stresses that strengthening security in the highly strategic Sahel region requires ongoing intelligence sharing, joint operations, and socio-economic investment that addresses the root causes of instability.
RUSI notes, in this context, that success in establishing peace and promoting prosperity in the Sahel and throughout the West African region depends on coherent collective efforts that transcend national borders.
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