VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #1234/01 2121603
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311603Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7067
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 3271

UNCLAS RABAT 001234 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA AND H 
 
H PLEASE PASS TO REPRESENTATIVE LOWEY AND HER DELEGATION FROM 
AMBASSADOR RILEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PTER MA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT OF CODEL LOWEY 
 
Ref:  STATE 102141 
 
Sensitive but unclassified - entire text.  Not for internet 
distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Representative Lowey, 
 
My staff and I are delighted to welcome you and your delegation to 
Morocco.  Your visit will help underscore the importance of our 
relations with Morocco.    Morocco is a paragon of reform in the 
region and relations are good enough that it has been designated a 
"major, non-NATO ally."  The country is now preparing for September 
parliamentary elections, the second of King Mohammed VI's eight year 
reign and the first since 2002.  Morocco is also engaged in 
negotiations under U.N. auspices on the future of the Western 
Sahara, which we support.  It is also increasingly focused on the 
terrorist threat in North Africa and went on maximum alert against 
that threat earlier this summer. 
 
Bilaterally, your visit comes on the eve of the signature of a 
compact between Morocco and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 
which will bring a significant expansion of U.S. assistance to 
Morocco, focused on key areas including agriculture, small-scale 
fisheries, artisan crafts, financial services and enterprise 
support.  This support will build on previous USAID successes in 
micro-credit and agriculture, but will also bring U.S. assistance 
into new areas. 
 
Morocco has made impressive political and economic strides in recent 
years, including liberalization of its trade relations with the 
United States and other countries.  Our bilateral free trade 
agreement entered into force in January 2006, and brought a 44 
percent increase in bilateral trade in its first year.   King 
Mohammed VI rules as well as reigns.  He has championed significant 
political reforms, including relative freedom of expression, 
advances on human rights, and the 2004 family law (or "moudawana"), 
which has significantly enhanced the rights of women.  Partly as a 
result of this reform record, the current form of government retains 
strong support across the political spectrum. 
 
Nonetheless, Morocco continues to face serious challenges. 
Illiteracy and joblessness remain high, and while economic growth 
has accelerated (averaging 5.4 percent from 1999 to 2006), it has 
not yet achieved the level needed to absorb new entrants to the 
labor force or to reduce poverty.  Frustration over the lack of 
employment opportunities, the government's inability to respond 
fully to educational and health needs, and endemic corruption, have 
broadened the appeal of Islamic-oriented parties and 
non-governmental organizations.  The legal Party for Justice and 
Development (PJD), which will vigorously contest next month's 
elections, will gain seats and it is possible that it could enter-- 
though not dominate-- the next government. 
 
These frustrations, combined with satellite television from the rest 
of the Arab world, have strengthened a dangerous terrorist fringe, 
as reflected in the April bombings in Casablanca that targeted the 
¶U. S. Consulate and Cultural Center, among other targets.  In the 
face of this threat, U.S.-Moroccan counter-terrorism cooperation has 
been excellent, as is reflected in the recent visits to Rabat of 
APHSCT Frances Townsend, FBI Director Mueller, and CIA Director 
Hayden.  The U.S. finds in Morocco a capable and active partner in 
the war against terror.  Morocco pursues an interdisciplinary 
approach in confronting the threat, seeking to address the economic 
marginalization of youth and refute extremist ideology by 
propagating Islamic messages of tolerance and moderation, while at 
the same time pursuing vigorous law enforcement and intelligence 
operations against specific terror cells.  It has acknowledged over 
the past year the importance of protecting human rights during the 
pursuit of counterterrorism efforts. 
 
Our mission strategic plan also adopts this holistic approach, 
seeking on the one hand to sustain and expand counter-terrorism 
efforts in Morocco through continued diplomatic, law enforcement and 
military cooperation, while on the other supporting the country's 
ongoing social, economic, and political reforms that directly 
address the conditions that create extremism. 
 
Morocco will receive over $35 million in US foreign assistance in FY 
07, approximately half of which will be for activities under peace 
and security with expenditures under IMET, INCLE, NADR and FMF. 
$18.9 million will be spent to address Morocco's ongoing development 
challenges through USAID with programs in economic growth, 
education/workforce development and democracy/governance. 
Additional funding from Washington of approximately $2 million 
annually is made available through the Middle East Partnership 
Initiative for advancing the Freedom Agenda and occasionally through 
other agencies, as well. 
 
The upcoming MCC compact, expected to be signed at a level 
approaching $700 million over five years, represents a significant 
increase in US assistance that will potentially have a profound 
impact in Morocco's prospects for economic growth, especially in 
agriculture, fisheries and traditional crafts.  However, Development 
Assistance (DA) and Economic Support Funds (ESF) are looked to in 
order to underwrite an assistance response that is complementary to 
the investment being made by the USG through the Millennium 
Challenge Corporation. 
 
That complementary assistance looks to the needs of the two-thirds 
of the 30 million Moroccans who are under age 30.  This population 
bulge, a result of rapid population growth in the 1970s and 1980s, 
has led to significant challenges. Joblessness, underemployment, 
poor education, and the inability of government to meet citizens' 
needs are sources of alienation, radicalization, and extremism that 
underpin a continuing terrorist threat. 
 
U.S. economic and development assistance is necessary to continue to 
focus on three priorities: education, economic growth, and 
democratic governance. U.S. assistance for peace and security should 
include FMF at adequate levels to sustain a large stock of US-origin 
equipment while continuing strong military to military partnership 
with Morocco a major non-NATO ally.  This will enhance the 
professionalism and skills of Moroccan military personnel, improve 
Morocco's ability to control its borders, and build upon the 
Moroccan military's contributions to international peacekeeping 
efforts and the global war on terror. 
RILEY