Rabat – British tabloid the Daily Express has painted ongoing trade negotiations between Morocco and the UK as a last-ditch effort by the outgoing British prime minister to “maximise the benefits of Brexit.”
With little more than a month left in Downing Street, disgraced outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson likely sees new trade deals with Morocco as part of “delivering on Brexit,” a source told the British tabloid.
Johnson’s time as prime minister was marred by scandals which eventually resulted in his upcoming departure, with less than five weeks left to change perceptions on his tenure.
A flurry of diplomatic engagements and trade talks between British and Moroccan officials has shown both an eagerness to sign new agreements, and an apparent effort to fast-track such developments.
Whether the Daily Express’ analysis of Johnson’s personal motivations to sign post-Brexit trade deals is correct, is hard to tell, yet few dispute that Rabat and London appear set to vastly expand their existing trade relations.
This week’s visit to Morocco by Lord Tariq Ahmad, British Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth, left little doubt that London and Rabat are keen to expand on both historic diplomatic relations and bilateral trade relations in the post-Brexit era.
Whether a new trade deal with Morocco would significantly change British public opinion about their outgoing prime minister remains to be seen. For Morocco, meanwhile, negotiating with a party eager to quickly conclude a new trade deal could prove beneficial in the long run.
