Morocco and Turkey: A decades-long cooperation

In a telephone conversation with the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay reportedly relayed an invitation to King Mohammed VI (Morocco) from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Turkey.

According to the Anadolu Agency, which reports the information, the two officials discussed several topics, including “the economy, education and defence, the current cooperation mechanisms between the two countries and the future prospects for consolidate the Moroccan-Turkish friendship”.

The Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, for his part, announced to Fuat Oktay that several Moroccan ministers will soon visit Turkey in order to strengthen cooperation ties, the agency specifies.
In a telephone conversation with the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay reportedly relayed an invitation to King Mohammed VI from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Turkey.

This telephone conversation between the two officials offers an opportunity to look into relations between the two countries, at various levels.

Between Morocco and Turkey, it is a story of friendship and diplomatic relations, of more than six decades based on mutual consideration and respect for the territorial integrity of each other. Also, for ten years and particularly the signing of the free trade agreement in a win-win framework in 2004, there has been a significant development in trade, hence the current growth rate of 14% .

The agreement actually entered into force a little less than two years later. In 2018, Moroccan imports from Turkey exceeded 21.5 billion dirhams, and conversely, Moroccan exports to Turkey posted 5.54 billion dirhams.

The Moroccan trade deficit with Turkey then carried 16 billion dirhams, according to the Office des Changes. Three years later we even witnessed an extension (5.8 billion dirhams) of this deficit which had risen to 23.2 billion of our currency, the import of Turkish products galloping at 31.8%.

Bilateral cooperation, due in particular to the imbalance of the trade balance in favor of Turkey, can now reach new levels. All that is needed is to explore the new possibilities of diversifying cooperation and favoring bilateral investment over trade.

An imbalance due to the similarity of production sectors in the two countries. Never mind ! The geostrategic position of Morocco is an attraction to foreign investment. Those Turkish, attracted by the high quality infrastructure and the skilled labor available to the Kingdom, have not failed in this dynamic. Turkey then set up commercial and other projects there.

Politically, it goes without saying that Turkey affirms its full support for the integrity and territorial sovereignty of the Kingdom. Also Morocco, thanks to its regional leadership and its strategic position, and Turkey, as an evolving economic power, can create an efficient and promising economic dynamic by accessing new markets, particularly in Africa and Asia.

Furthermore, Morocco has strengthened its military cooperation with Turkey. Indeed, in mid-July last, during a Council of Ministers chaired by King Mohammed VI, Rabat confirmed this decision by adopting a draft decree which completed the existing legislation on the posts of military attachés, adding this post to the Moroccan embassies in Turkey and India. Rabat thus appointed a defense expert in Turkey. The latter, therefore, being part of a diplomatic mission, will assist the ambassador by taking care of bilateral relations in the military and defense field.

This development will allow the Kingdom to continue the efforts to modernize the Royal Armed Forces (FAR). Indeed, Turkey already has a developed defense industry and bilateral defense relations with Morocco are developing rapidly.