Morocco refuses the German invitation to an international conference

Yesterday, Wednesday, the absence of Moroccan representation in the second Berlin conference on the Libyan crisis was noted, as the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, was not among the foreign ministers of countries that Germany invited to participate in this international conference.

Germany sent an official invitation to Morocco to participate in this conference, in addition to a number of countries involved in the Libyan crisis, such as the United States of America, Russia, Tunisia, Egypt, Switzerland, the Netherlands…

On Tuesday, international reports stated that Morocco would be one of the delegations participating in this second conference dealing with the situation in Libya, at the invitation of the United States of America. Alas, the absence of the Moroccan delegation depicts an ongoing tension Between Morocco and Germany.

It seems that Morocco refused to participate in this conference that took place in the German capital, as an affirmation of the continuation of the diplomatic crisis with Germany. Morocco refuses to give up its stance against Berlin, because of the hostile German positions that contradict Moroccan interests, the most important of which are Sahara issue, as The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described it previously.

A Foreign Ministry statement added that another reason stems from the fact that the German authorities are in the process of prosecuting a former convict of terrorist acts, while publically sharing sensitive information provided by the Moroccan security services. While a third relates to what the communication described as Germany’s relentless fight of the regional role played by Morocco, particularly in the Libyan file, by trying to exclude the Kingdom without justification from participating in some regional meetings dedicated to this file, such as the one that was held in Berlin.

A direct consequence of the unexplainable displays of hostility previously listed is summoning the Moroccan ambassador in Berlin for consultations.  The Moroccan ambassador has not yet returned to Germany, which means that the crisis continues between the two parties.

It is worth noting that the second Berlin conference on Libya comes to confirm the results achieved in the first conference, which focus on the continuation of the ceasefire, pushing the reconciliation process and returning the situation to normal in Libya in order to get the country out of its long lasting crisis after the Arab Spring.