French-speaking magazine “Jeune Afrique” shed light on relations between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), surveying the historical milestones of the foundation of the UAE, in a long article entitled “Morocco-UAE: A story of friendship between Arab kingdoms,” published on Friday.
The magazine highlighted the close ties between Morocco and the UAE, despite the many historical and cultural particularities pertaining to each country, especially the location of the two Kingdoms at the far ends of the “Arab World”.
King Mohammed VI paid a historic visit to UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A visit crowned by the signature of a series of Memoranda of Understanding in different fields, highlighting perennial ties and robust collaboration.
The magazine threw light on different historical landmarks, as the pre-Islamic era, the Islamic conquests, and the creation of UAE -and its neighboring countries as Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain- which were coveted by Great Britain due to their rich resources.
Yet, Morocco and Gulf countries have many things in common, the monarchy for instance and the Abraham Accords to which Morocco, UAE and Bahrain are signatories.
The magazine hinted to the shared Iranian threat after Ayatollah’s revolution in 1979 and the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, which accelerated the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The UAE is among the countries which back Morocco’s first national cause and stand for the Moroccan sovereignty over its Sahara in all international fora.
King Hassan II and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had forged close personal ties as early as the 1970s, and the current President of the Emirates has pursued his studies in Rabat at the “Collége royal” along with King Mohammed VI, who was at that time Crown Prince.
Relations between Rabat and Abu Dhabi are expected to flourish and grow stronger, contrary to the Gulf country’s ties with Algiers, according to the magazine.