Morocco

Main article: Africa

Dependence on the United States

2023: Preparation of an emergency plan to establish a US military base in Morocco

On January 18, 2023, it became known that US President Biden instructed US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to prepare an emergency plan to create an American military-industrial base in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Before that, the American president received a detailed report from CIA Director William Burns on the expansion of Russian influence in Africa - Zimbabwe, Sudan, CAR, Algeria, as well as the Sahel and Sahara.

According to Arab media, they plan to build a base on the territory of the Moroccan Sahara. According to some assumptions, the object will not be inferior in size to similar structures in Spain, in particular to the US bases Moron and Rota.

In addition to the fact that most African countries did not support the sanctions imposed against Russia, the CIA report placed special emphasis on cooperation between the Russian Federation and Algeria. According to the report, the White House is concerned that Russia not only supports Algeria militarily and politically, but is also discussing the creation of a large logistics base that will provide Russia with access to sub-Saharan countries. In addition, Russia may also have the opportunity to use Algeria's large base in the Mediterranean Sea - Mers el-Kebir.

The Kingdom of Morocco is one of the main US allies in the region and the only African country that, for example, agreed to supply spare parts for military equipment to Ukraine. Rabat is also concerned about the active development of Russian-Algerian relations and fears that the military strengthening of Algeria will be followed by the strengthening of the troops of Western Sahara, where the border crisis has persisted for 30 years.

If the information about the proposed construction site of the base is correct, then Morocco's troops will also be able to use it as a springboard for offensive operations against separatists in Western Sahara, whose independence from the Kingdom is actively supported by Algeria, the Rybar channel noted.

2022: Supplies of spare parts for tanks T-72 to Ukraine under US pressure

Main article: Supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine

By November 2022, the United States was able to convince the Moroccan authorities (the only country in Africa) to supply Ukraine with spare parts for Soviet T-72 tanks.

The royal armed forces have 136 T-72B tanks and 12 T-72BK purchased from 1999 to 2001 in Belarus.

Earlier, Morocco, like many African countries, preferred to remain neutral. For example, at the March meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Moroccan delegation did not take part in the voting on the resolution condemning the special operation of Russia.

Ukraine painfully appreciated this step and recalled its ambassador from Rabat. In April, France decided to send 12 Caesar self-propelled guns to Ukraine, some of which were intended for Morocco.

At the same time, the United States invited Moroccan representatives to take part in the meetings of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine at the American Ramstein airbase in. Germany They were part of a delegation of 14 invited non-member states. NATO

In changing the position of the Moroccan leadership, the conflict in Western Sahara with Algeria largely played, the Rybar channel noted. Against the background of established Russian-Algerian cooperation, Rabat is looking for support from other exporting states, especially the United States, which supplies 90% of weapons to the country.

Under these conditions, Morocco is forced to make concessions on the issue of supplies to Ukraine. Therefore, Washington will continue its policy of pressure on African countries in order to force them to become donors to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Foreign policy

2024: Morocco claims autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Canary Islands

Morocco from the very beginning of its independence claims the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Canary Islands.

2023: Refusal to condemn Russia in Ukraine conflict

Economy

2018: GDP $3,355 per capita

Banks

2024: Moroccan Saham Group acquires Société Générale assets in Morocco for $745 million

In April 2024, the French banking group announced the sale of 58% of Société Générale Marocaine de Banques (banking) and La Marocaine Vie (insurance) to the Moroccan company Saham Group for $745 million. UNITED STATES. Under the legislation, the deal will close at the end of 2024 after regulatory approval.

Saham Group is an investment group founded in 1995 by Moulay Hafid Elalami (former Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy of Morocco). The group's interests include the telecommunications sector and the financial sector.

The only bank in Morocco that still remains under the control of French investors is "BMCI" ("BNP Paribas"). Earlier, the Moroccan company Holmaroc bought out 79% of the bank "Crédit du Maroc."

Energy supplies

2023: Increase in diesel fuel supplies from Russia

The increase in diesel supplies from Russia to Turkey and Morocco gives an idea of ​ ​ how this market will work bypassing the EU ban on imports from Russia from February 2023.

Moroccan imports from Russia are on the rise, tanker tracking data shows.

Unemployment

2020: Unemployment rate - 12.5%

Power

2023: Britons want to get electricity from Africa. Underwater cable for $25 billion is already being pulled

At the end of November 2023, the British authorities recognized the Xlinks Morocco-U.K. Power Project initiative to create a transcontinental energy bridge as an infrastructure project of national importance. We are talking about the transfer of energy from renewable sources located in Africa through an underwater cable with a length of approximately 3800 km. Read more here.

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

2019: Electrification

Tourism

2019: How dependent Morocco is on tourism:% of industry in GDP

R&D

2020: R&D spending - $1.5 billion

Morocco IT Market

2022: More than 20 start-ups

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

2001: Main farming model - mixed

The main model of agriculture is mixed: rain irrigation, mixed systems in mountainous areas and arid areas. Grazing is the leading form of land use.

Foreign trade

2023

31% of wheat supplies are in Russia and Ukraine

Surplus with France almost €690m as trade rises to €14bn

Morocco's trade surplus with France reached nearly €690 million in 2023. The trade turnover between Morocco and France recorded record figures, exceeding 14 billion euros. The growth of mutual trade amounted to 5% compared to 2022, when the trade turnover also increased significantly (+ 25%).

Bilateral trade at this time is twice the level of 2015. While Morocco's overall trade balance is traditionally scarce (due to its heavy reliance on energy imports), trade with France shows a steady surplus.

Morocco's key exports to France are agricultural products (+ 16%) and automotive products (+ 5%). The main imports are transport equipment (+ 58%), chemical products and pharmaceuticals (+ 10%), wheat, the volume of import of which into Morocco amounted to 2.3 million tons.

Products automobile industries in general are one of the main items of Moroccan exports abroad, despite the fact that France accounts for more than 40% of these supplies.

Consumption

Meat

2023: Poultry meat is the most consumed type of meat

Vegetables

2018: Vegetable consumption - 108 kg per capita

Cereals

2019: Low rice consumption: 2.1kg per person per year

Alcoholic beverages

2018: Minimum age to purchase alcoholic beverages

Population

Main article: Population of Africa

Population

2022:38 million people

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Marriages

Allowed to have more than one spouse

Overweight

Mortality

Traffic safety

Education

Percentage of people who can read

Health care

Maternity leave

in

2020: Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave 6 months or more

Crime

Moroccan Mafia (Mocro Maffia)

Main article: Moroccan Mafia (Mocro Maffia)

The Moroccan Mafia (Gallandic: Mocro Maffia) are various criminal organizations consisting mainly of people of Moroccan origin. These organizations specialize in smuggling large cocaine quantities and synthetic drugs through,,, and, Spain Portugal Netherlands Belgium from where it spreads to the rest of the European continent.

Prisons

2021: Number of prisoners - 86,384

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 11

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Religion

2020: The country in the world leaders in the share of Muslims in the total population

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

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History

2023: Earthquake 6.8. More than 2,000 people died

On September 8, 2023, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring thousands. Entire villages in the hills of the Atlas Mountains were wiped off the face of the earth.

2022: King Mohamed VI filmed drunk in Paris

In August 2022, a video appeared in the media in which the Moroccan king Mohammed VI is completely drunk, in Paris in the company of his friends, the Azaytar brothers and under the protection of his bodyguards.

2020

US and EU recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara

By 2020, the UN has not been able to decide who to support: Morocco, which claims the entire territory, or SADR, which de facto occupies a narrow strip along the border with Mauritania. The UN is demanding a referendum - but it has never been held in the three decades since the ceasefire agreement.

Israel and the United States behind closed doors actually decided the fate of the unrecognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) - the gateway to sub-Saharan Africa and the territory known for its rich phosphorite deposits.

Back at the end of January 2020, the Moroccan House of Representatives adopted two bills that extended the kingdom's jurisdiction to all territorial waters of the country. At the same time, the European Parliament extended the trade agreement between the EU and Morocco to the occupied territories.

Behind these moves was Israeli diplomacy, which guaranteed recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara by the United States in exchange for normalizing Tel Aviv's relations with Rabat. So, it was Israel, according to Bloomberg, that sought the opening of US missions in the occupied territories.

In turn, Morocco managed to persuade US sympathy largely thanks to its own lobbying structures in Washington. Over the past four years alone, the kingdom has spent a total of $700 thousand to support the United States in the occupation of Western Sahara. And although the Moroccan authorities say they do not intend to "exchange Palestine" for sovereignty over Western Sahara, the Moroccan government is already beginning to actively use the fruits of informal agreements. In particular, the details of the Russian-Moroccan agreement on the use of the territorial waters of the SADR for fishing became the media, and the World Bank has already issued a map on the prospects for Morocco's offshore wind energy, including Western Sahara in the kingdom.

Interestingly, an almost key mediation role in the Moroccan-Israeli negotiations belonged to Uganda, which maintains good relations with both Israel and Morocco. Back in early February, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Kampala, where he met with President Yoweri Museveni and the head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

And Netanyahu, strengthening his prestige in Chad, Sudan and other countries of the Arab world, manages to gradually win over other countries of Black Africa, many of which (especially Namibia and South Africa) sharply condemn the actions of Morocco. Thus, four African countries (in addition to Kot-d and the Comoros Islands) have already announced their desire to open their consulates in Western Saharan Al-Ayun.

In turn, the People's Front for the Liberation of Sagia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front) partially controlling Western Sahara, through its representative in friendly SADR Algeria, threatened Morocco with another war - for more than a year the organization has been slowly building up military infrastructure in the cities of Tifariti, Agwanit and Bir Lahlu controlled by it. However, resources, including mobilization, are limited for Polisario - over half of the Sahrawi live in refugee camps outside Western Sahara, in the area of ​ ​ the Algerian city of Tindouf.

The situation escalated at the end of 2020, when the president USA Trump recognized the sovereignty of the Moroccans over the disputed territory (within the framework of the Abraham Agreements - that is, the Israeli factor also played a role).

To restore damaged relations with Morocco, Madrid, too, changed its position on Western Sahara, which has already caused discontent among Algeria. As a result, the latter suspended the agreement on friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain from 2002, and as a result - trade relations.

In Western Sahara, the United States created an alternative Polisario organization of collaborators, the Sahara Peace Movement (SDM), and recognized it as an authorized representative of the interests of the entire West Saharan people. For this structure, the Americans secretly developed a roadmap for the Western Sahara settlement, which provides for the creation of autonomy within Morocco. And with the kingdom itself concluded an agreement on the development of military cooperation for the period until 2030.

Lofty Bouchaara is the new ambassador to Russia

Moroccan Ambassador Lofty Bouchaara, among 22 other diplomats, presented his credentials to Russian President V. Putin in February 2020.

2018: Murder of two Scandinavian tourists

Louise Jespersen (24) and Maren Uland (28) studied together at the University of Southeast Norway. According to Uland's mother, they were experienced gaiters and well prepared to travel. They have been in Morocco since December 9, 2018 and were going to spend a month there. Louise Jespersen's mother told reporters that the family asked her not to go to Morocco because of the "chaotic situation" in the country.

On December 17, 2018, 24-year-old Danish Louise Westerager Jespersen and 28-year-old Maren Uland from Norway, who were on a tourist trip there, were found killed in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

The women's bodies were found in a tent they had set up in the mountains two hours' walk from the village of Imlil. From there, according to The Guardian, tourist paths and the road to Mount Tubkal, the highest point in the Atlas Mountains, begin. The girls were stabbed and then beheaded.

Soon, the first suspect in the murder was detained in Marrakesh. When trying to leave the city, three more were detained (they were allegedly caught due to the fact that the traders on the street saw a knife sticking out of the bags of one of them, and turned to the police). On the same day, a video appeared on social networks in which four men swear allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization; authorities confirmed that this is the murder suspects - and that the video was made before the crime.

The day before, a video of the murder itself appeared on social networks (the Norwegian authorities confirmed that it was most likely real). On the record, terrorists say they are avenging their "brothers in Hajin" - a city in eastern Syria that in December recaptured the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance with support from IS. USA

Nine other suspects were arrested in different parts of the country in December. Moroccan authorities have announced the seizure of weapons, knives and "potentially explosives" from them.

Community organizations have proposed naming a resort in Imlil in memory of Louise and Maren. A petition appeared on the Change.org website demanding the execution of those responsible for the murder (several hundred people signed it).

In Morocco, compared to other North African countries, terrorist attacks are rare. Moroccan authorities claim to have uncovered about 20 terrorist cells in the country in a year.

In July 2019, a court in the suburb of the Moroccan capital of Sale sentenced three killers of two tourists from Scandinavia to death, as previously demanded by the prosecutor's office. This was reported by Maghreb Arabe Press (IDA) news agency.

Earlier, the mother of one of the murdered girls demanded the death penalty for the main accused of a brutal crime.

The main defendants, 25-year-old street vendor from Morocco Abdessamad Ezhjoud, as well as two of his accomplices who profess radicalism - 27-year-old Younes Uaziyad and 33-year-old Rashid Afati - were sentenced to death. Another - Younes Khayyali - was sentenced to life imprisonment.

They were found guilty of "forming a gang for the purpose of preparing and committing terrorist acts, encroaching on life with premeditated intent, as well as possession of firearms and attempting to make explosives as part of a collective plan aimed at seriously damaging public order," IDA notes.

Another 20 other defendants received long prison sentences, ranging from five to 30 years. Those sentenced to prison include Spanish and Swiss national Kevin Zoller Cuervos, who has been accused by prosecutors of "creating a terrorist gang" and training top suspects in the use of coded messages in correspondence. He will spend 20 years in prison.

Earlier, the investigation stated that almost all those who ended up in the dock in the case of the murder of tourists are supporters of the Islamic State group (IG, banned in the Russian Federation).

According to eyewitnesses present in the courtroom, at the time of the sentencing, Ezhjud, Uaziyad and Afati behaved calmly and equanimously. They, as well as Khayali, according to the verdict, will pay the parents of the murdered Europeans a fine of 2 million dirhams (about €180 thousand).

In Morocco, since 1993, death sentences have been imposed, but not carried out. Therefore, the punishment is likely to be life imprisonment.

2015: 1,600 Moroccans in the ranks of terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq

According to BBC News, in 2015, there were about 1,600 immigrants from Morocco in the ranks of terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

1991: United Nations Mission in Western Sahara

In 1991, 15 years after the declaration by the Polisario Front of the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, a UN peacekeeping mission was established in the region. Its goal was to ensure a referendum on independence or integration with Morocco.

The so-called "transition period," which was supposed to end with a referendum, but has been going on for more than 31 years. At the same time, more than $60 million is spent on the maintenance of peacekeepers annually.

The presence of MINURSO did not prevent Moroccan troops at the end of 2020 from trying to open the road in the Gergerat buffer zone, which in turn forced Polisario to announce the end of the 30-year truce and the resumption of armed conflict.

The clear failure of the mission amid the increasing risk of war between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the independence of Western Zahara, did not prevent the UN Security Council from extending its mandate in 2022 until October 31, 2023.

First of all, widespread corruption is to blame for the failure, both among the peacekeeping contingent and among the authorities of the host country.

A good example of such cooperation is the situation in Western Sahara, where many years of sabotage in holding a referendum on the independence of the SADR is beneficial to both peacekeepers and the Moroccan administration.

In the Moroccan-controlled part of the country, mining is underway at the Bu Kraa fields. These territories have 75% of the world's phosphate reserves, thanks to which Morocco is the world leader in exporting this resource and in third place in its production.

In turn, peacekeepers, justifying their inaction by the lack of relevant mandates from the UN, turn a blind eye to the illegal actions of Moroccans against local residents.

1987: Morocco completes wall, asserts control over 2/3 of Western Sahara

In 1987, Morocco completed the construction of the wall, establishing control over 2/3 of the territory of Western Sahara.

Polisario, which enjoys active military and political support from Algeria, controls mainly uninhabited lands south and east of the wall.

1976: Polisario Front declares Western Sahara an independent state - SADR

In 1976, the partisans of the Polisario Front (this is short for Popular por la Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro), supported by Algeria (its relations with Morocco have soured since the 1963 Sand War, and in August 2021 the countries severed relations), proclaimed Western Sahara an independent state - the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). It was recognized by 84 states - but Russia is not among them.

1975: Occupation of Western Sahara after Spanish withdrawal

Western Sahara belonged to the Spaniards until 1975. After their withdrawal, the territory was divided between Morocco (in the north) and Mauritania (in the east and south). By 1979, the latter also renounced its claims.

1956: Gaining independence from France

Morocco from the very beginning of its independence claims the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Canary Islands.

1914

1912: France establishes protectorate over Morocco

Officially, France established a protectorate over Morocco in March 1912. On paper, the country did not lose independence, and the sultan remained the official ruler. Spain received part of the territory - in the north and in the south.

1880

As part of the Roman Empire

Main article: Roman Empire

129 BC: Mauretania

Restricting sex to marriage and abortion

According to Moroccan law for 2019, couples who have sex outside of marriage can be detained for up to one year. And a woman who has had an abortion can be jailed for six months to two years and punished with a fine.

Sights

Hassan II Mosque is the tallest religious building in the world

It is the tallest religious structure in the world. It is located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Its height is 200 meters. This is 30 meters higher than the Cheops pyramid. It was built by 2,500 builders, 10,000 artists and craftsmen decorated the mosque.

Outside in 2019, it looks like a real palace. Here, the golden marble floors are heated, and the roof with bright emerald shingles can spread out.

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