Highlights of Liberia-Morocco Relation

The Historic Gesture

On March 30th, 1965, four years after the death of King Mohammed of Morocco, President Tubman took upon an offer from King Hassan II to visit the Kingdom of Morocco. He returned home with a deep admiration for King Hassan and the people of Morocco. The young king accorded him royal courtesies, entertainment, and consideration. In a speech to the legislature, President Tubman described King Hassan II as a man of “mellow experience and sound judgment.”

Ever since the historic visit of President Tubman to the Kingdom, leaders and government officials of both countries have reciprocally paid visits to each other.  Between October 30 and November 5, 1979, for instance, William R. Tolbert Jr., Liberia 20th President visited Algeria and the Kingdom of Morocco. In 1990, president Doe attended the fifteen biannual Francophone Conference in Casablanca. In 2002, Charles Taylor along with Mano River Union leaders met in Morocco to resolve infighting among the leaders of the tripartite. Respectively, President Ellen Johnson President Weah also visited Morocco in 2016 and February 20, 2018.

In various times and occasions, high-level Moroccan government officials, including heads of public and private Moroccan institutions have also visited Liberia.

The focus of these high-level reciprocal visits has been on promoting solidarity and peace, trade, economic and technical cooperation, climate or environment concerns, and the resolution of intraregional conflicts among African nations.

The Initial Roles Morocco and Liberia Played

In the formative years of the OAU, Liberia and Morocco pursued unparallel continental goals. And where some of the goals were similar, the tactics to achieve them strikingly differed. However, they played a preeminent role in the liberation struggles of the continent, and the establishment of the Organization of African Unity now called the African Union.

The Monrovia Group

While Liberia served as the ringleader or bellwether for those countries that opted for a loose technical relation among the African countries, the Kingdom of Morocco advocated a federated union among the African nations. Liberia hosted the Sanniquellie Conference in 1959 to propound on the agenda of promoting economic development cooperation, dialogue, mediation, and conflict resolution. The Monrovia Group held a follow-up meeting between 8–12 May 1961 in Monrovia. Its members included Nigeria, Senegal, and Cameroon. Its leaders stressed the importance of Africa’s newly independent states retaining their autonomy, self-determination, and strengthening their bureaucracies, militaries, and economies.

The Casablanca Group

In 1961 the kingdom of Morocco hosted the Casablanca Group in Casablanca. The Casablanca Group advocated the formation of a continental union and a military power capable of fighting, when necessary, to free the continent from outside hegemony and resolve intra and fratricidal conflict. The Casablanca Group consisted of Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Mali, and Morocco. The conflict and eventual compromise between the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group led to the establishment of the Organization of African Unity. Gamal Abdel-Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sekou Touré of Guinea attended this conference.

The Core of the Division

In 1973 the Polisario movement was formed in Spanish Sahara, a region south of Morocco aimed to fight for its independence. The Kingdom of Morocco and Mauritania claimed parts of the Spanish controlled territory. The Western Saharan region’s resource endowment includes phosphates and fisheries. The North Atlantic Ocean situates Western Sahara to the northwest. Algeria’s strategic interest is to have unfettered or unlimited access to the Atlantic for the exportation of her iron. Spain, too, was reluctant to relinquish the territory for the same strategic reasons.  In 1975, King Hassan II ordered 350,000 civilian volunteers to cross into Spanish Sahara to occupy the Spanish occupied territory. A fratricidal conflict ensued between the Moroccan military and Polisario forces. In 1975 December, Spain agreed to relinquish the Spanish Sahara and to join Moroccan-Mauritanian control. The relationship between Algeria and Morocco thawed, and the African continental house became divided on the SADR status. In 1984, Morocco decided to leave the Organization of African Unity in protest at the SADR’s admission to the body. In 1988, Algeria and Morocco resumed full diplomatic relations. 

The resurgence of issues relating to SADR continues to threat relations among Maghreb nations and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). The formation of the Arab Maghreb Union on Feb. 17, 1987 brought together leaders of the region composed of King Hassan II of Morocco, Col. Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, President Chadli Bendjedid of Algeria,  and Col. Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya of Mauritania. AMU aims to preserve peace and security and increase inter-regional trade and cooperation.

Nothing Stops the Two Countries Engagement

 Irrespective of their ideological differences, and unparalleled aspirations, nothing has impelled the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Liberia to disengage from promoting and strengthening solidarity, friendship, and cooperation in sundry fields. Between 1980 and 2011 the two countries signed several bilateral agreements in the fields of Economic, Culture, Technical & Scientific, Youth & Sport, transportation. From the benefits management perspective, the goals of some of these agreements have been promising and mutually propitious to both countries. Between 1987 and 1918, for instance, over 300 Liberian have pursued technical and academic studies in various fields in the Kingdom of Morocco. Equally, Air Maroc continues to benefit from the freedoms to land in Liberia to pick up or drop off passengers or fly over Liberian territory even during Ebola outbreaks. In 2015, the Liberia Airport Authority honored Royal Air Maroc and Brussels Airlines for continuing service to Liberia during the Ebola outbreak. 
Moreover, many Moroccans have expressed interest in investing in Liberia’s timber, port management, and construction industries. Liberia has also continued to support Morocco reentry to the African Union and its membership to the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.