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Join on Telegram Rabat – Within the span of one week, Morocco’s regional rivals have replaced their top diplomats.
On Wednesday, July 7, Algeria replaced its leadership at the foreign ministry. Outgoing Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum will be replaced by former FM Ramdane Lamamra amid a diminishing of Algiers’ diplomatic clout in the region. While Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune retained his ministers in charge of energy and finance, Boukadoum was asked to vacate his position after a string of diplomatic losses.
Spain followed suit on Saturday, July 10, with converging Spanish reports announcing that controversial Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya is set to be replaced with Spain’s former Ambassador to Paris, Jose Manuel Albares.
The two countries are both in a stand-off with Morocco. Algeria and Morocco continue their regional rivalry, with diplomatic tussles over border issues and the Western Sahara conflict. Spain and Morocco face renewed diplomatic tensions that have resulted in a freeze in diplomatic relations following Spain’s welcoming of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali for medical treatment.
Both Spain and Algeria are facing tough economic prospects, battered by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain’s tourism sector is slowly recovering, but fears over a renewed spike in COVID-19 infections are again raising concerns over the country’s long-term prospects.
In Algeria, internal issues appear to dominate foreign policy decision-making. The country’s top officials appear to be generating renewed tension with Morocco in order to divert the attention of a restless population that is demanding structural reforms in the country’s governance. With little to offer citizens domestically, Algiers appears to try to unite Algerians against a common foreign foe.
While both countries need trade and good relations like never before, the foreign offices in Algiers and Madrid appear to have done little but generate diplomatic scandals. In particular, Spain’s outgoing Foreign Minister Laya has come under fire for her terrible handling of the issues that led to the current diplomatic crisis with Morocco.
Despite the changes at the top of the two countries’ foreign ministries, large-scale changes in foreign policy are unlikely to materialize.
