 | |
 Morocco |  Russia |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Morocco, Moscow | Embassy of Russia, Rabat |
Morocco–Russia relations (Arabic:العلاقات المغربية الروسية,Russian:Российско-марокканские отношения) are thebilateral relations between theKingdom of Morocco and theRussian Federation. Morocco has anembassy inMoscow, while Russia has an embassy inRabat and aconsulate general inCasablanca. Russia and Morocco currently enjoy a very good, rapidly improving relationship.
Bilateral relations betweenRussia andMorocco have traditionally been very good since the 18th century. Then the mutual relations began with the exchange of goods between the empires ofSultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah andEmpress Catherine II.[1] In 1897, theRussian Empire established a consulate inTangier.[2] In 1906,Arthur Cassini participated in theAlgeciras Conference as the representative of the Russian Empire. The Russian delegation supported the French position unequivocally in theFirst Moroccan Crisis.[3] In the late Tsarist years, Russia supported theFrench colonial position in Morocco.[4]
In the course of the 1920s, theSoviet-sponsoredComintern supportedJacques Doriots' (then a communist) campaign against theFrench colonial presence in Morocco.[5] Additionally, in the 1920s and the 1930s, the Soviet Union did not sign theTangier Protocol.
During the Cold War, Morocco was one of the Soviet Union's most important trading partners in Africa.[6]
In the early 1960s, Soviet-Moroccan relations were developing very well.[7] During the1964 Moscow protest, approximately 50 Moroccan students broke into the embassy of Morocco in the Soviet Union inMoscow and staged an all‐daysit-in protesting against death sentences handed down by a Moroccan court inRabat.[8]
In 1978, the Soviet Union invested heavily in themining industry of Morocco.[9]
In the context ofWestern Sahara War, Moscow backed "the inalienable rights of the population of Western Sahara to self-determination".[10][11] KingHassan II of Morocco said in 1980 that Morocco and the Soviet Union are "at war" in the sense that Soviet arms were supplied toAlgeria, which were being shipped by Algeria to thePolisario Front.[12]
_03.JPG)
In the 2000s, the bilateral trade relations widened significantly, especially in the mining and agriculture sector.[citation needed]
The current President,Vladimir Putin, paid a visit to Morocco in September 2006 in order to boost economic and military ties between Russia and Morocco. Moroccan-Russian relations are still in constant development, while trade between the two countries reached over 2 billion dollars in 2011.[13] In March 2016,King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited Russia and met with President Putin.[14] Both sides signed an agreement on mutual protection of secret information.[15]
After a significant decline in tourism from Europe, the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco is planning to attract more travelers from Russia.[16]
In 2019, the Moroccan and the Russian government agreed on investing into an oil refinery inMohammedia, 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 theNador 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.[17]
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.[18]
During thecoronavirus pandemic, the cooperation between Morocco and the Russian Federation was highlighted after the approval of theSputnik V vaccine in January 2021.[19]
Russians are able to visit Morocco without a visa for 90 days, boosting the tourism sector in Morocco.
Morocco chose not to participate in the UN vote that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[20] 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; additionally, 37% of Moroccans want to keep ties with Russia.[21]
A former Moroccan prisoner of war who has naturalized Ukrainian citizenship was sentenced to death by aDonetsk People's Republic court,[22] but later released in a prisoner exchange brokered by Saudi Arabia.[23]
On 20 December 2023, the 6th Russian-Arab Cooperation forum took place inMarrakesh, Morocco.[24][25]
Russia has an embassy inRabat, and a consular office inCasablanca. Morocco is represented in Russia by its embassy toMoscow.
|  | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
