Algeria-Mauritania Rapprochement Puts Morocco In Isolation

Decision of the Moroccan authorities to impose a visa on Mauritanian nationals who travel on Moroccan soil from Europe, creates a crisis between the two countries that coincided with the opening of an Algerian Mauritanian land crossing between the two countries this month, which brought the Maghreb region in a state of polarization.

Moroccan decision to grant Mauritanian travelers a visa that does not exceed three days only was behind the “organization of the Union of Mauritanians in Spain” and a protests out of the Presidential Palace and the Foreign Ministry”s doors in Nouakchott denouncing the Moroccan authorities deal with them, and considering the decision as “unfair to them” because it is difficult for them to cross the Moroccan territory in this brief circumstance.

Duration of the visa was not the reason for the complaints of the Mauritanian nationals from the Makhzen authorities, but rather the “complication” of obtaining the Moroccan transit visas which they needed to travel by land to Mauritania via the Kingdom of Morocco, as the duration of the waiting period was extended to several weeks, while these visas are valid for less than 7 to 3 days.

Moroccan-Mauritanian crisis was also manifested by the accusation of Mauritanian Foreign Miniser, Nasser Bourita, and the Mauritanian media of “serving agendas that aimed at aggravating the relationship between Morocco and Mauritania.”

This was followed by a Mauritanian reservation after nominating a Moroccan ambassador to Nouakchott after the absence of diplomatic representation at the level of anbassadors.

Visa crisis between Rabat and Nouakchott coincided with an Algerian-Mauritanian rapprochement that manifested by the opening of a land crossing between the two countries this month, a step that was read by the Moroccan side as a bias in favor of the eternal rival, Algeria.

This incident was only a link in a series of crises between Rabat and Nouakchott that accumulated since 2012 due to Morocco’s apprehension of Mauritania, which no longer corresponds to the Moroccan positions on the Sahara issue. 

Previously, this crisis reached the limit of the absence of diplomatic representation between the two countries at the ambassadorial level.

Mauritania position, known as the “Guerguarat crisis” between Morocco and the Saharawi government, has also contributed to the straining relationships between Rabat and Nouakchott, as Morocco has become at the highest level of emotion towards the neighboring countries of Western Sahara, and Algeria was present in the speeches of its King, Mohamed VI, as an “eternal supporter” of the Sahara issue, Morocco’s “anger” has spread to Mauritania, just because it insists on staying neutral on the Sahara issue and refuses to recognize Morocco’s claims that ignore international laws and norms and UN resolutions.

In the opinion of observers, the Makhzen’s passive attitude towards the neighboring countries indicates that its policy is more isolated than ever in the Maghreb region, as in the rest of the world, because of the constant flight of Rabat and its failure to comply with the will of the international community.