Rabat – King Mohammed VI had a telephone conversation tonight with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, said a statement from the Royal Cabinet.
Qatar was among the countries that voted today in favor of the Moroccan candidacy in the vote of designation of the organizing country of the World 2026 held today in Moscow, the statement said.
During this telephone conversation Shaykh Tamim informed the Sovereign of the full support of Qatar in Morocco in the event that the Kingdom presents its candidacy for the organization of the World 2030, notes the same source.
Betrayal of the Saudis
Millions of Moroccans were taken aback by Saudi Arabia’s decision to vote for the United 2026 bid of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
While Moroccans were hoping all Arab countries would vote for the Moroccan bid, seven Arab countries voted in favor of the United 2026 bid. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq all voted against the Moroccan bid.
Upon the announcement of the final results of the vote, Moroccans took massively to social media to lash out at Saudi Arabia for their “betraying” Morocco and “stabbing it” in the back. Saudi Araba did not only vote for the United 2026, but it also embarked on last minute campaign to pressure many Muslim and Asian countries to vote for the American-led vid.
According to several media reports, Saudi officials hosted on Tuesday night an Iftar in honor of the 204 delegations present in Moscow to participate in the vote.
Many analysts view the Saudi decision to turn its back to Morocco as retaliation against the latter’s decision to take a position of neutrality in the Gulf crisis that broke out on June 5, 2017.
While the Saudis, Emiratis and Bahrainis were expecting Morocco to back them in their feud with Qatar, King Mohammed decided to remain neutral and offered his good offices to help iron the differences between Qatar and a self-styled quartet composed of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
