Highlights
– Morocco moves to strengthen trade and security cooperation with Europe on new Tangier-Med port
– Police use force to end week-long blockade of southern port by protesting youths
– Tangier-Med port is largest investment initiative for international trade and economic prosperity for Morocco
Three and half years ago, on January 27, 2005, the Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency (TMSA) entered the first stage of opening the largest African and Mediterranean port, called Tangier-Med. With two years remaining until full completion, Moroccan port authorities have entered into a cooperation agreement with three European ports – Algeciras, Spain; Calais, France; and Dover, United Kingdom – aimed at stimulating the development of trade and strengthening security. The agreement was signed on June 13, 2008; five days after Moroccan police forcibly ended a weeklong blockade of another port in southern Morocco by youths protesting poverty and joblessness (Civil Unrest).
As Morocco enters the final stages of fully open the nation’s largest asset to date, port authorities have moved to heighten security measures in the midst of increasing civil unrest and significant potential for terrorist attacks in the near to mid-term.
Tangier-Med Port at Risk; Unrest and Potential Terrorist Targeting
Port Tangier-Med is projected to be the largest economic and socially prosperous investment for the North African Kingdom, employing an estimated 145,000 at full completion and allowing concessions for industrial and commercial duty free zones. In addition to its close proximity to one of Morocco’s largest airports, it is also closely linked to Morocco’s fast track railway system connected to the rest of the country and Europe. European investors have poured millions of euros for the project, with estimates reaching 150 million by 2010, however tensions among investors have peeked in recent weeks as Morocco continues to battle a violent wave of unrest from unemployed youths.
On June 8, 2008, hundreds of Moroccan police ended a blockade of Morocco’s southern port, Sidi Ifni. Approximately 200 youths upset with ongoing economic strife protested in front of the port, trapping trucks and other vehicles for a period of one week. Purportedly using violence, Moroccan police forces brought an end to the strike.
Unrest in Morocco has increased in recent months due to rising prices of staple goods in the global market. More important, however, is the potential for unrest to escalate further, giving local terrorist groups in the area the opportunity to strike amidst the chaos, as well as recruit members. Neighboring Algeria, for instance, has experience such sequencing of events in recent weeks, where mass civil unrest directly preceded a series of terrorist attacks (Previous Report). Members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AOIM) took full advantage of recent Berber-Arab clashes and carried out a number of deadly attacks in early June (Terrorist Attack, Terrorist Attack). As terrorists continue to seek Western economic targets and infrastructures, Moroccan officials and foreign investors are moving towards boosting security around Morocco’s latest vehicle for Western foreign investment and economic prosperity.
Morocco Boosts Security and Economic Prosperity
Civil unrest over widespread poverty, inadequate housing, and mass unemployment among the Moroccan youth population has triggered security officials to increase safety measures around tourist areas, government buildings, and several port city locations. It is anticipated that as the Tangier-Med port gains more popularity in the coming months, security measures will be strengthened in the near to mid-term.
Moreover, terrorist groups like the AOIM operating in Morocco and neighboring countries could potentially target port cities, specifically Tangiers, as the country’s security officials have been stretched to appease mass unrest.
In the interim, however, Morocco will continue to experience economic prosperity resulting from increased trade and investments, as the country maintains its business operations amidst current social and political conditions.
