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King Mohammed VI of Morocco delivered a speech to the nation on July 31 as the North African nation celebrated the 22nd anniversary of the King’s ascension to the throne. The speech is historic inasmuch as it constitutes a heartfelt cry of cooperation and reconciliation to Morocco’s neighbor, Algeria. It was a cry to bury the hatchets, to let bygones be bygones, and strive together to achieve unity, regional integration, and neighborliness.
With this speech, King Mohammed VI is calling on Algeria to reopen borders – which have been closed since 1994 – and work together to achieve prosperity and peace for both peoples.
What is striking in this speech is its altruistic and humane side: the King spoke the language of the heart, but did it in a candid and sincere manner. He reiterated a deeply felt conviction that Algerians and Moroccans are brothers and sisters, united over the centuries by the bonds of geography, culture, politics and history.
Therefore, the two countries have the right to open borders, as stipulated by international law, and the Maghreb Unity Convention signed in 1987 in Marrakech, which calls for free movement of goods, persons and capital.
The King of Morocco calls for a wise approach to relations between the two countries, that consists of overcoming stereotypes and prejudices, ending the media rhetoric which gives a bad image of the two countries in the international arena. As such, opening borders and resuming political and economic relationships will most likely live up to the aspirations of the two peoples who see each other as “khawa khawa” (brothers and sisters).
King Mohammed VI said the enemy lies elsewhere, namely in the shared threats and challenges of illegal immigration, human trafficking, terrorism and organized crime. The two countries each have the means and capabilities to face these challenges, but together they could uproot them more easily.
Economically, the two countries could complement each other and play a role of leadership in building a space for growth and prosperity in North Africa and the Sahel. Morocco and Algeria could play the role Germany and France played after World War II in building, unifying, and democratizing Europe.
The leaders of the two countries should, according to King Mohamed VI, seize this opportunity to create a historical moment of truth, whereby the two countries could look at their common history, at their cultural affinities and at the social interactions between the two peoples, to build an integrated space of well-being, peace and freedom.
History makes possible the opportunities provided by Destiny. It is up to the peoples and the leaders of the two countries to answer this call of history and overcome petty problems – by looking forward and investing in a grand vision of two regional powers leading other nations towards peace and prosperity.
This vision is practical and feasible, provided the two countries overcome their mutual suspicion and fear to embrace the future together with open borders, open hearts, open arms, and an overarching sense of History, Hope, and Destiny.
