Unlocking the Sahel: Morocco’s Advance as Bridge- Builder and Agenda-Setter

In April 2025, King Mohammed VI hosted the foreign ministers of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger) in Rabat, under the banner of the Royal Initiative for Sahel Access, a visionary strategy to foster regional stability and economic integration through diplomacy, trade, and security cooperation. Launched to address the Sahel’s persistent challenges, including jihadist violence (8,000 deaths in 2024 according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) and governance crises, this initiative builds on Morocco’s return to the African Union (AU) in 2017 and its $1.2 billion in trade with Sahel states, which strengthens economic ties and supports regional stability. Complemented by the African Atlantic Initiative, which harnesses Morocco’s strategic ports like Dakhla to connect landlocked Sahel states to global markets, and the $25 billion Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline, set to supply energy to the Sahel by 2030, these efforts underscore Morocco’s multifaceted approach. Additionally, Morocco’s religious diplomacy, training Sahelian imams since 2015 , counters extremism, positioning Rabat as a credible African leader amid the mixed outcomes of international interventions, particularly in the eyes of local populations.

This brief examines Morocco’s dual initiatives to “unlock” the Sahel, their implications for fostering stability, and the challenges of balancing great-power competition with national priorities. Can Morocco sustain its advances while navigating regional tensions and resource constraints?