MOROCCO: THE AMBASSADOR'S CHAT WITH A KEY ROYAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000735

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2018
TAGS: ECON PHUM ENRG PGOV PINR PREL KMCA MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: THE AMBASSADOR'S CHAT WITH A KEY ROYAL
ADVISOR

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas T. Riley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Abdelaziz Belfkih, Counselor to King Mohammed VI on
education, energy and agriculture issues, told the Ambassador
that concern over energy and fuel supplies remains a high
priority for the Kingdom, but mitigating strategies are
hampered by Morocco's complicated relationship with Algeria.
Belfkih agreed with the Ambassador that corruption is a
primary obstacle to effective educational reform, and must be
resolved if Morocco is to continue to expand its overall
economy as well. The same applied to water resource
management, an issue that increasingly underpins all
discussion of development and growth in Morocco. Belfkih
respectfully listened to the Ambassador's comments on human
rights issues related to Western Sahara. He was
knowledgeable about and interested in the domestic U.S.
political context. Although he has a low public profile,
Belfkih is rumored to be one of the King's most important
advisors and appears to have regular contact with him and was
well informed about the Ambassador's June 30 meeting with the
monarch. Belfkih can be approached on issues outside of his
designated portfolios. End Summary.

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Moroccan Energy Deficit, Algerian Energy Surplus:
An Uneasy Combination
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2. (C) The Ambassador had a wide ranging and informal
three-hour-long discussion during an early morning golf
outing on July 27 with Royal Counselor Abdelaziz Belfkih,
principal advisor to King Mohammed VI on education, energy
and agriculture. Belfkih confirmed that energy concerns are
high on the royal agenda. He expressed frustration with
Algerian intransigence on questions of cross-border energy
cooperation with Morocco, particularly in regards to a
pipeline that originates in Algerian oil fields and crosses
Moroccan territory before dipping below the Mediterranean on
its way to lucrative European markets.


3. (C) Despite technical agreements signed by Moroccan
Minister of Energy Amina Benkhadra during a mid-July trip to
Algiers endorsing significantly greater oil and gas sales to
Morocco, Algeria still refuses to allow its neighbor to
increase the actual amount of product it is allowed to
purchase and divert from the pipeline. Belfkih believes that
Benkhadra, with whom the Ambassador met on July 25, is doing
a good job of attempting to diversify Morocco's energy supply
base, but must proceed with a strategy that, realistically,
assumes no increases in energy imports from Algeria for the
foreseeable future.


4. (C) Belfkih noted that nuclear energy is a viable option
and is under active and serious consideration, but that
Morocco must proceed "step by step" in order to asses
implications and complications. The current electrical grid,
he explained, is "too fragile" to absorb the exponential
increase in load associated with nuclear power generation.
"We must be aware of our commitments and plans" when
designing the overall energy plan, he noted, and move
deliberately.

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Education and Corruption
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5. (C) The Ambassador mentioned that he had not had time to
raise the issue of corruption with the King during his June
30 meeting, as he had hoped, but believed that it was a key
obstacle to Morocco's continued progress. Belfkih agreed
wholeheartedly and said it was an issue of particular concern
in the education sector, where a large portion of any given
school's payroll consists of "ghost employees" who draw
salaries without actually working. Before the development of
a national school system, teachers were drawn from the local
population, which exercised a degree of oversight and
accountability over school employees. Now, Belfkih
explained, community members look to Rabat to fix problems
with corruption and mismanagement and have lost a sense of
local ownership over their children's education. This
weakness in local participation was a key impetus behind the
King's overall drive to decentralize Morocco's administrative
apparatus.

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Water
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6. (C) Belfkih agreed with the Ambassador that the same
dynamic of local ownership applied to questions of water
management, although he felt that industrial and large-scale
agricultural water use was a more salient issue than rural
agricultural utilization. He said that small-scale
agriculture and household use accounted for only 10 to 15
percent of Morocco's total water consumption, and, as such,
could be allowed to continue using traditional and
inefficient management techniques without much harm. The
real challenge, he said, was to improve efficiencies among
medium-to-large scale agricultural enterprises, the
industrial sector and the booming housing and sectors.


7. (C) The Ambassador disagreed and described seeing
dangerously wasteful irrigation practices at many small-scale
farms during his visits to rural areas. He also discussed
his discomfort at seeing USAID funded irrigation projects
fail as a result of corruption, local inefficiencies or legal
obstacles preventing community access to financing. Belfkih
expressed surprise at these comments and said he would look
into the issue. He agreed with the Ambassador that the
Millennium Challenge Account represents an excellent vehicle
creating sustainable jobs by improving the complete
distribution channel, not just one part.

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Human Rights
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8. (C) The Ambassador reiterated the importance of adhering
to human rights standards, particularly in Western Sahara.
He emphasized that Morocco had garnered a great deal of
international good will through its positive approach to the
Manhasset process, but that "one picture" of a Moroccan
policeman beating a Sahrawi protester could undo hard-won
progress and alter the negotiating calculus. Belfkih agreed
that an enlightened approach and continued concrete
socio-economic investment in the territory would help allay
suspicion on the ground in the Western Sahara.

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U.S. Elections
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9. (C) Belfkih was interested in, and well informed about,
the upcoming U.S. presidential election. He asked what a
change in administration would "do to Morocco" on issues like
Western Sahara. He discussed the differences between the
candidates on social programs and education, and compared the
U.S. debate with Morocco's efforts to balance the management
of a governmental safety net with the creation of a more
decentralized and entrepreneurial social and economic system.

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Comment
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10. (C) Belfkih was well briefed on the Ambassador's June 30
meeting with the King and, based on certain comments he made,
appears to speak with the monarch regularly. Belfkih has a
low key public profile, but is known to be a member of the
inner circle of royal advisors and, as such, should be
maintained as a key Embassy and USG interlocutor. His
assigned portfolios are vitally important to Morocco's
development and economic reform efforts and are a mark of the
esteem in which he is held. Although the conversation with
Belfkih was informal and off the record, the Ambassador was
pleased to be able to make points about corruption, human
rights, and Western Sahara, knowing that they would reach the
King's ears. Given Belfkih's close relationship with
Mohammed VI, he can be approached on issues outside of his
portfolios. End Comment.


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Riley