Prime Minister Rutte traveled to Africa last week and visited Namibia and South Africa. His last destination is today, in Morocco. The Netherlands is fighting to improve relations with African countries, the cabinet recently wrote in a strategy for Africa.
podcasts | Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s tour of Africa
“A common theme in these visits is the energy transition,” Rutte said in a video on Twitter. ‘But the conversations here in Morocco are broader. We have very intense cooperation in the cultural, economic and migration fields.’
Positive relationship
The visit gave relations with Morocco a ‘new impetus’, according to Rutte. Two years ago, both countries agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of security and justice, social security and migration. According to Rutte, it has now been decided to build on that action plan and enter into a strategic partnership. “We agree on many things and want to invest our energies in a positive relationship.”
Social security treaty
For years, relationships have been difficult. For example, there has been a long discussion about a modified social security treaty that would have reduced the benefits of Dutch Moroccans living in Morocco. But Rabat’s refusal to take back hopeless asylum seekers was particularly serious in The Hague. It even got so bad that Dutch ministers in charge of asylum matters were no longer received in Morocco.