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Morocco’s relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are the fruit of a strategic commitment, opted for since the independence and strengthened as part of the Mediterranean Dialogue, Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El Otmani said on Monday in Chicago.
“In addition to the historical dimension, the relations between Morocco and the Atlantic Alliance are distinguished by their regularity and concrete aspect which is mirrored through Morocco’s active commitment to all bilateral and multilateral political meetings of the Mediterranean Dialogue,” the minister said at the meeting of NATO heads of state and government with the Alliance’s partner countries.
This active commitment is shown through the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces’ participation, along with the allied forces, in the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the KFOR in Kosovo, and in the Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean.
El Otmani, who was the only Arab senior official to speak, commended the advisory approach adopted by the secretary general while thinking about the new strategic concept, as well as the new partnership policy.
He added that the Kingdom hails the decision by the Alliance to develop, in coordination with the countries concerned, its existing partnerships while preserving their specificity and strategic coherence.
He recalled that the Kingdom has always supported the idea of reinforcing the Mediterranean Dialogue in its political dimension, and said that the country insisted on providing the Mediterranean Dialogue with a document laying the political guidelines governing NATO’s relations with the Mediterranean Dialogue member countries.
The official noted that Morocco proposed, during the 2nd meeting of the Mediterranean Dialogue-Atlantic Policy Advisory Group (MD-APAG) in Rabat in March 2012, a draft declaration for strengthening the MD, and added that the said draft enjoyed large support.
El Otmani said that Morocco has always considered peace, stability and security in the Mediterranean as a major strategic goal, adding that the country is tirelessly striving to turn the region into a zone of lasting peace and solidarity, while respecting the states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.
