What Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative could mean for the Sahel

In a recent interview, Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita committed his country to helping bring the central Sahel ‘out of isolation’, essentially offering an olive branch to countries such as Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, who have been struggling with a rising tide of de-stabilizing religious extremism. He held out the prospect of these countries increasingly being drawn into a joint development and port access package, which is commonly known as ‘The Atlantic Initiative’. Morocco’s Foreign Minister clearly believes that economic development and growth, the kind of which lifts people out of poverty, may be one of the most effective ways of tackling extremist violence. In recent years many of the Sahel countries have indeed turned against traditional military backers, most notably France, but also the United States and ECOWAS near neighbors such as Ghana and Nigeria. The latter two countries have in turn become increasingly alarmed by a new array of military rulers who hold such sway in the region – not least because in countries such as Mali, mercenary groups linked to Russia have been playing an increasing role in the violence that is disfiguring the region.

The Central Sahel also faces profound environmental challenges, with desertification, de-forestation and more extreme weather patterns. All these factors add to the general instability of central Sahel countries and the suffering of its peoples. And while Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita’s comments have been broadly welcomed in the region, the practicality for goods to travel the extraordinary distances across the Sahara, principally through Mauritania to Moroccan ports is the biggest challenge. Just a quick look at the map sets out that challenge, with two possible routes, one snaking through Mauritania and up the coast to Morocco, the other through the deserts of southern Algeria. So, if new trade routes may be a difficult option, is there more of a political and cultural role that could be played by Morocco and indeed by other countries that surround the central Sahel? Some observers believe that a mixture of improved development investment and closer cultural alignment between Morocco in particular and the central Sahel, could over time begin to pay dividends for all concerned. At the end of the day, as far as the peoples of this part of the World are concerned, Morocco is not a former colonial power, such as France, nor is it interested in the kind of geo-political gamesmanship of both the US and Russia. Having a position as regional ‘honest broker’, may not be something that Morocco’s Foreign Minister quite intended in his interview this month, and yet that possibility may increasingly become a real one.

*Mark Seddon is a former Speechwriter to UN Secretary-General Ban ki moon & former Adviser to the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly