pawns in an international game,
but as independent, sovereign
nations. We seek relations with
them based on mutual interest,
independent of their relations
with others. We recognize and
respect the variety among the
nations. The Cold War is over
unless others choose to continue
it . As the President said in his
report to the Congress on foreign policy in February 1970,
“ United States Foreign Policy
for the 70's ," one of our two
major concerns in Africa is " that
the continent be free of great
power rivalry or conflict in any
form. This is even more in
Africa's interest than ours."
given us neither the right nor the
capability to determine the
course of Moroccan political or
economic life, even if we had
desired to do so .
In foreign policy, too , King
Hassan has followed an inde
pendent course . He has , over the years, improved his relations
with Europe and has established
friendly relations with the Soviet
Union . He has taken an active
role in Arab affairs and has fre
quently used his relationship
with us to bring to our attention
Arab concerns.
Neither in Morocco-nor in
any other developing country
do we seek to further or support
any particular system or foreign
policy. We feel that both are the
responsibility of the peoples of the country.
We have established a mutual
ly beneficial relationship with
Morocco, despite the different
nature of our systems of govern
ment. We find a common interest
in continuing Moroccan eco
nomic growth and the continued
absence in Morocco of influences
hostile to our basic concerns. In
the area of economic develop
ment, we have no magic formu
lae to guarantee growth either
for ourselves or for the Moroc
cans. Only the Moroccans, them selves, can assure their own
progress - political, economic, and
social . We believe, however, that
our assistance has improved their
ability to make such progress.
BILATERAL RELATIONS
have a keen interest in the free
dom of the Mediterranean and in
the continued access for all to
that sea and to the nations
around it . The establishment of
dominant foreign influences ad
versely affecting these interests
on the southern shore of the
Mediterranean would be a matter
of grave concern to us.
-Secondly, the orderly de
velopment of these nations and
their resources is important to
them, to Europe, and to us.
While there are, and will con
tinue to be, differing views on
what constitutes a reasonable
basis for access to these re
sources, there is agreement that
such access is important to all .
- Thirdly, we shall remain an
important source of the capital
and technology required for the
development of this area . The
nature of arrangements may
change, but the U.S. private role
is likely to continue.
- Fourthly, the nations of
North Africa , despite policies
shaped by different histories and
influences, will all stoutly resist domination byby any outside
power. They will defy simple
categorization in any East -West
lineup.
- Finally, events in North
Africa , as in many other parts of
the world , will move today with
far less concern over the role of
the United States and reference
to us than in years past. If we
have interests there, it is our task
to preserve them, whether it be
in investment, in trade, or in
security. We cannot assume that
others will do it for us.
Against the background of
these assumptions, what is our
approach to these nations today ?
We regard them, first , not as
Morocco
We have had particularly close
ties with Morocco and Tunisia .
Despite the withdrawal of mil
itary facilities from Morocco, our
economic and strategic interests
there remain substantial. We re
tain important Voice of America
facilities. We have growing trade
with Morocco and our invest
ment there is also increasing . We value the presence of this friend
at the southern side of the gate
way to the Mediterranean .
Morocco has , since independ
ence, faced severe economic
problems. We have helped in the
development of its agriculture
and in meeting problems of em
ployment.
King Hassan, thrust suddenly into power in 1961 , has led
Morocco skillfully through criti cal years and critical problems.
We have both benefited from
cooperation . Our relationship
with Morocco, however, has
Tunisia
Tunisia exemplifies a smaller
country , ably governed by re
sponsible leadership possessing
influence beyond its borders, but
endowed with modest natural
resources.
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