Britain and Morocco to strengthen relations

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 Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 09:45 Joe Garcia
Britain and Morocco to strengthen relations

Britain and Morocco are planning to strengthen their economic and political relations, and this has raised eyebrows in Madrid, with certain sources indicating that Britain might gain greater control over the Strait in return for multi-million investments in Morocco.

With Britain's exit from the European Union, new links are being sought that were previously restricted as an EU member - and Morocco is an obvious choice as the Moroccans themselves have always wanted closer ties with the UK which they see as a friendly country.

The coronavirus crisis might put the brakes on for the time being, such as a visit of King Mohamed VI to London to meet The Queen. It is being pointed out that the Moroccan king has already met with Prince Charles.

The whole issue has surfaced with Morocco having approved new laws about the delimitation of territorial waters, with an exclusive economic zone of 200 miles and up to 350 for its continental shelf, which has raised concern over territorial waters overlapping with the Canary Islands. It opens up the exploration of valuable petrol and natural gas resources in the area, over which British energy companies have already shown interest.

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