Baerbock succeeds in a diplomatic coup - almost unnoticed

Created: 01/06/2022, 06:52 AM

From: Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld

Ukraine crisis, Nord Stream 2 and China: the new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has her hands full.

A small breakthrough has already happened.

Berlin / Rabat - Since March there has been an Ice Age between Morocco and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Out of anger about German foreign policy, the North African country called its ambassador in Berlin back for consultations in May.

The background is a dispute over the Western Sahara, which Morocco claims for itself.

Germany has repeatedly acted hostile to the higher interests of Morocco, it said.

The Foreign Office under Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) announced at the time that the allegations were incomprehensible.

But now there is apparently a foreign policy success for the traffic light government.

The new Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is responsible for this.

Almost unnoticed between the Ukraine crisis, tensions over Nord Stream 2 and the wrestling with Russia and China, Germany and Morocco are rapping again.

Baerbock: First foreign policy success goes almost unnoticed - breakthrough in relation to Morocco

"The ice age between the Federal Republic and the Moroccan Kingdom finally seems to be over," quoted Die

as Andreas Wenzl, managing director of the German Chamber of Commerce in Rabat. The prospects for the future are positive again. Both countries have a lot to offer each other. In fact, Morocco is a key partner for Germany, including in energy policy. Wenzl also emphasized to

: “Morocco is a key partner for the development of green hydrogen.” But the country could also become important as a cooperation partner in terms of migration policy.

A message from the German Foreign Office on December 13, 2021 states: "The Kingdom of Morocco is an important link between North and South politically, culturally and economically - the country is a key partner of the European Union and Germany in North Africa." Morocco play an "important role for stability and sustainable development in the region".

However, the ministry also emphasized that the German government's position on the Western Sahara question had been "unchanged for decades".

Morocco: Germany welcomes signs of détente - Western Sahara issue

The Federal Foreign Office published the announcement just a few days after the change of government - since then the house has been run by Baerbock. The signal did not go unnoticed in Morocco. Shortly afterwards, Morocco's foreign ministry declared that the “positive statements” by the new federal government were likely to allow a resumption of bilateral relations and a return to normal diplomatic missions. Morocco appreciates "the constructive positions that the new German government has taken recently". Apparently also a reaction to the changes in the information on bilateral relations on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

Germany itself has welcomed the signs of détente.

The diplomatic missions in Rabat and Berlin should return to their "usual, professional communication channels" as quickly as possible, according to the Foreign Office in Berlin.

The task now is to move German-Moroccan relations forward through dialogue.

Donald Trump: Ex-US President recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara

There were and are several points of contention between Rabat and Berlin.

Among other things, the German criticism of the one-sided recognition of Morocco's claim to the Western Sahara by the USA caused displeasure in the Moroccan capital.

The North African country had previously reacted angrily to its exclusion from the Berlin Libya Conference in January 2020.

In December 2020, the then US President Donald Trump recognized the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara, which the German government clearly criticized Angela Merkel.

The area on the Atlantic coast in northwest Africa was a Spanish colony until 1975 when it was largely occupied and annexed by Morocco.

The Polisario Front resistance movement, with the support of Algeria and Libya, proclaimed the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic.

Morocco only wants to grant Western Sahara limited autonomy.

Tensions in the region had increased in recent months.