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Doha – Morocco launched its ambitious Atlantic Initiative on November 6, 2023, aiming to provide Sahelian countries with maritime access to the Atlantic Ocean and enhance the kingdom’s influence in the Sahel-Saharan region.
A recent analysis by Abderrafie Zaanoun, a researcher in administrative law and public policy, published in Carnegie’s Sada journal on October 10, examines the initiative’s potential impact and challenges.
The initiative focuses on countries like Mali, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso, with the goal of transforming the geopolitical landscape of the Sahel and Sub-Saharan regions, which have been grappling with a series of coups fueled by worsening economic and social conditions.
According to the report, “despite continuous efforts to leverage ECOWAS’s fragmentation, marked by the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, Morocco has yet to convene an alternative regional bloc that encompasses 85 million people.”
According to the report, the initiative is expected to contribute to political stability, strengthen Morocco’s influence, and address shared security challenges like terrorism and irregular migration.
Zaanoun writes that “Morocco appears to aspire to a central role in reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the Sahel and Sub-Saharan regions.”
The analysis highlights Morocco’s soft power strategies, including training programs for security forces, educational projects for imams, and support for religious schools and orders, as key tools for consolidating its security influence.
According to the analysis, some believe that the initiative’s primary objective is to counter Algeria, which has been striving to isolate Morocco by collaborating with its allies to form a small-scale-Maghreb Union, comprising Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, which was announced in November 2023.
The Atlantic Initiative also seeks to address the interconnected challenges of security and development by prioritizing investments in agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical industries to tackle the underlying causes of instability.
The report notes that Morocco views the region as a gateway to broader African markets, with Moroccan exports to Africa increasing significantly from $300 million to over $3 billion between 2004 and 2024.
Furthermore, the analysis emphasizes that revenues generated by Moroccan companies investing in African countries have surpassed $2.5 billion, with a significant portion of these investments focused on the Sahel-Saharan countries, especially Mali, which is the third-largest recipient of Moroccan investments in Africa.
The report also mentions that Morocco is working to strengthen cooperation with African countries by modernizing the infrastructure of its Atlantic ports, notably the Dakhla Atlantic Port, which is projected to be fully functional by 2029.
Moreover, the kingdom is strategically developing an economic cooperation zone with West Africa to strengthen regional connectivity and improve transportation networks, the report states.
However, the initiative faces several challenges, including the absence of influential countries like Senegal and Mauritania, financial hurdles due to the considerable distances involved, and security issues stemming from the region’s unstable conditions.
The analysis also points out the fierce competition between Morocco and Algeria, particularly concerning the transportation of African gas to Europe. The report mentions that “competition between Morocco and Algeria remains fierce, especially as Algeria struggles to implement the trans-Saharan gas pipeline amid tensions with transit countries, particularly Niger.”
The Atlantic Initiative is a key component of Morocco’s plan to transport natural gas from Nigeria via a secure pipeline that would traverse thirteen countries before reaching Europe, with an estimated cost of $25 billion, according to the report.
Despite these challenges, the report suggests that Morocco is well-positioned to secure financial backing from the United States and Europe, as both seek regional partners to strengthen their strategic interests.
As the report concludes, this context helps explain Morocco’s prominent role in the governance of the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Support launched by Washington in September 2023.
In a speech delivered in November 2023, King Mohammed VI emphasized the importance of the Atlantic Initiative, stating, “My goal is to transform the Atlantic region into a space for human interaction and economic integration, and to make sure it plays a key role at continental and international levels.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita, speaking at the UN headquarters in New York last September, reiterated the initiative’s aims to promote peace, stability, and shared prosperity across the African Atlantic region.
He stressed the need for coordinated efforts from African and global partners to address the region’s alarming security situation.
Read also: King Mohammed VI: A Quarter Century of Pan-African Leadership
