Morocco–Russia relations
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Morocco–Russia relations ( ar, العلاقات المغربية الروسية, russian: Российско-марокканские отношения) are the
bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between the
Kingdom of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and the Russia Federation. Morocco has an embassy in Moscow, while Russia has an embassy in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
and a consulate general in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
.


History


Imperial period

Bilateral relations between Russia and Morocco have traditionally been very good since the 18th century. Then the mutual relations began with the exchange of goods between the empires of Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah and Empress Catherine II. In 1897, the Russian Empire established a consulate in Tangier. In 1906, Arthur Cassini participated in the
Algeciras Conference The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...
as the representative of the Russian Empire. The Russian delegation supported the French position unequivocally in the
First Moroccan Crisis The First Moroccan Crisis or the Tangier Crisis was an international crisis between March 1905 and May 1906 over the status of Morocco. Germany wanted to challenge France's growing control over Morocco, aggravating France and Great Britain. The ...
. In the late Tsarist years, Russia supported the French colonial position in Morocco.


Soviet period

In the course of the 1920s, the Soviet-sponsored
Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
supported Jacques Doriots' (then a communist) campaign against the French colonial presence in Morocco. Additionally, in the 1920s and the 1930s, the Soviet Union did not sign the
Tangier Protocol The Tangier Protocol (formally the Convention regarding the Organisation of the Statute of the Tangier Zone) was an agreement signed between France, Spain, and the United Kingdom by which the city of Tangier in Morocco became the Tangier Internat ...
. During the Cold War, Morocco was one of the Soviet Union's most important trading partners in Africa. In the early 1960s, Soviet-Moroccan relations were developing very well. During the
1964 Moscow protest On 18 March 1964 approximately 50 Moroccan students broke into the embassy of Morocco in the Soviet Union in Moscow and staged an all‐day sit-in protesting against death sentences handed down by a Moroccan court in Rabat four days earlier. The dea ...
, approximately 50 Moroccan students broke into the embassy of Morocco in the Soviet Union in Moscow and staged an all‐day
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
protesting against death sentences handed down by a Moroccan court in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
. In 1978, the Soviet Union invested heavily in the mining industry of Morocco. In the context of Western Sahara War, Moscow backed "the inalienable rights of the population of Western Sahara to self-determination". King
Hassan II of Morocco Hassan II ( ar, الحسن الثاني, translit=al-Ḥasan aṯ-ṯhānī;), with the prefix "Mulay" before his enthronement 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was the King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. He was a member of the 'Ala ...
said in 1980 that Morocco and the Soviet Union are "at war" in the sense that Soviet arms were supplied to Algeria, which were being shipped by Algeria to the Polisario Front.


Current relations

In the 2000s, the bilateral trade relations widened significantly, especially in the mining and agriculture sector. The current President Vladimir Putin had paid a visit to Morocco in September 2006 in order to boost economic and military ties between Russia and Morocco. Morocco-Russian relations are still in constant development, while trade between the two countries reached over two billion dollars in 2011. In March 2016,
King Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moham ...
visited Russia and met with President Putin. Both sides signed an agreement on mutual protection of secret information. After a significant decline in tourism from Europe, the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco is planning to attract more travelers from Russia. In 2019, the Moroccan and the Russian government agreed on investing into an oil refinery in
Mohammedia Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most imp ...
, that was defunct since 2015. So equipped with a refining capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day, the refinery should later be able to reach 200,000 barrels per day by exploiting the Nador Port facilities. This expansion promises to deliver a number of trickle-down effects, including boosting job creation and infrastructure development, particularly in Morocco's northern regions. Morocco and the Russia signed a new fisheries cooperation agreement in 2020, after a former agreement signed in 2016, expired in March. The new agreement, spanning 4 years, is the 8th of its kind since 1992, and establishes the legal framework allowing a fleet of 10 Russian vessels to fish for small pelagic species in Moroccan waters beyond 15 nautical miles. During the coronavirus pandemic, the cooperation between Morocco and the Russian Federation was highlighted after the approval of the
Sputnik V vaccine Sputnik V (russian: Спутник V, the brand name from RDIF) or Gam-COVID-Vac (russian: Гам-КОВИД-Вак, the name under which it is legally registered and produced) is an adenovirus viral vector vaccine for COVID-19 developed by t ...
in January 2021.


During Russo-Ukrainian war

Morocco chose not to participate in the UN vote that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Morocco said it was concerned about the military escalation in Ukraine emphasizing that it encourages all initiatives and actions promoting a peaceful settlement of conflicts and 37% of Moroccans want to keep ties with Russia. A former Moroccan prisoner of war who has naturalized Ukrainian citizenship was sentenced to death by a
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
court. On 20 December 2023, the 6th Russian-Arab Cooperation forum took place in
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
, Morocco.


Diplomatic missions

Russia has an embassy in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
, and a consular office in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
. Morocco is represented in Russia by its embassy to Moscow. The Russian embassy is located in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
. The Moroccan embassy is located in Moscow.


See also

* Foreign relations of Russia ** Africa–Soviet Union relations * Foreign relations of Morocco


References


External links


Documents on the Morocco–Russia relationship from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Embassy of Russia in Rabat
(in Arab and French)
Embassy of Morocco in Moscow
(in Arab, French and Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morocco-Russia relations Africa–Russia relations Russia Bilateral relations of Russia