A King's courage

The Moroccan monarch King Mohammed VI has arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is the fourth station of his Arab Gulf tour. The UAE is the closest country to Morocco out of all the Gulf States in terms of friendly relations, so we can say that King Mohammed VI is on a visit to a part of his big family. The King's arrival in Abu Dhabi came after visits to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar. It was notable that the King was keen during his visit to Jordan to tour the field hospital donated by Morocco for the Syrian refugees in Jordan's Zaatari camp. Maybe this was the first time we see an Arab leader taking such a move. Considering the dangers that might be waiting for an official of King Mohammed's level when he visits such a place, we can say that his visit to the Zaatari camp has given an indication to his great courage and his great humanitarian sentiment as well. The visit was a clear message by the King to the Syrian people that Morocco stands firmly by their side, and that Morocco's hosting to the "Friends of Syria" conference few months ago was not an odd event. Instead it came in accordance to a comprehensive policy adopted by Morocco which is aimed at helping the Arab people eradicate dictatorial regimes. To make it clearer: Morocco is not in a position where it can accept supporting illegitimate regimes that depend only on oppression to stay in power. The Moroccan King's Arab Gulf tour came to ensure that there are Arab leaders who think in a modern way and believe that cooperation and coordination among the Arab countries is still possible. It was no coincidence that the King's tour included Jordan; the country that stands in the frontlines of all the regional crises of the Middle East. There is a direct threat directed at Jordan by Israel's colonial plans, despite the fact that the two countries have signed a peace treaty in the early nineties - the treaty that blocked the way to the Israeli rightists' project of transferring the Palestinian refugees to "an alternative homeland" in Jordan. Ironically this project is now supported by the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan who has been recently trying to cripple the political reforms decided by King Abdullah II and to protest against the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, which restored Jordan's rights in the territories and water resources occupied by Israel. In the same context, Jordan has been largely affected by the repercussions of the Syrian crisis; there are 200,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan at the moment, and King Mohammed VI has come to Amman to ensure that the Arabs will not let Jordan bear this burden alone. Jordan was such a significant station in the Moroccan king's tour, because it showed how close the ties are between King Mohammed VI and King Abdullah II, who have both launched political reform processes in their countries aimed at reaching a point where power will be peacefully transferred among political parties committed to the national foundations of both countries. There is another side of King Mohammed's tour which we shouldn't underrate; it is the new basis he is making for the cooperation between the Arabs. The King did not visit the rich Gulf States to ask for aid, but to offer opportunities for investment which will benefit both Morocco and those who aim to invest their money in it. Before his visit to the Gulf, King Mohammed VI made great efforts to create a stable political atmosphere in his country, in addition to a reliable infrastructure - which some European countries envy Morocco for - and modern laws that guarantee protection for foreign investments. Moreover, Morocco has already launched a lot of projects which are expected to connect the Arab countries of North Africa to Europe. On top of these projects is the new port of Tangier, which is expected to increase the European companies’ interest in transferring their factories to Morocco, where the labour costs are also considerably low if compared to Europe. A good example for this issue is the project of manufacturing the "Renault" vehicles in a place too close to the new port of Tangier, and this project is expected to guarantee thousands of job opportunities for the Moroccans. Whoever decides to help Morocco among the Arabs would be actually helping themselves first, as they will be engaged in a relation based on mutual interests, with a country that has already found solutions to its internal problems - thanks to the courage of King Mohammed VI who found no problem in opening his palace's gates to those who were oppressed during his father's reign, and was never scared to go along the path of reforms until the end. We can say that King Mohammed VI’s recent tour has opened the way for a new approach in relations between the Arabs. It is a comprehensive and well-prepared tour in which the King was meant to address all the political and economic files his country is involved in - including the border strife between Algeria and Morocco and the Algerian insistence on keeping the borders between the two countries closed. This poses an obstacle to the establishment of normal relations among the Arab Maghreb countries and does not help the efforts of fighting the terrorist threats which pose serious danger against all countries of this region. The King also did not undermine the Syrian crisis, the Palestinian cause, or the Iranian threats against the Gulf, Lebanon and Yemen. What is more important is that this tour will be remembered as the first attempt to establish new basis for the relations between Arabs; a basis that gives priority to facts and mutual interests - the two things that many of Arab politicians have always chosen to ignore.  -- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.