US-Morocco: Longstanding Ties
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US-Morocco: Longstanding Ties
President Bush, King Hassan II
Remarks at arrival ceremony, Washington, DC, September 26, 1991
President Bush: It is an honor to
welcome His Majesty King Hassan to
the United States of America. The
relationship between our two countries
is rich, tracing back more than 200
years to the Moroccan-American
Treaty of Peace and Friendship. And
that agreement remains the longest
unbroken treaty in our history.
Your Majesty, under your leader-
ship, relations between our nations
continue to grow and prosper in a
variety of fields-in trade and invest-
ment, in cultural contacts, and in
resolving regional disputes.
This past year has seen a world of
remarkable change-transformations
that have reverberated across every
continent. Morocco is stepping forward
to meet this new world. You have
lowered barriers to increased invest-
ment and trade-and begun the
privatization of many of Morocco's
wholly owned state enterprises.
Already, your nation's economic
opening has meant new opportunity for
American investment-some of it
generated by 1989's highly successful
OPIC [Overseas Private Investment
Corporation] mission to Morocco.
Morocco is also responding to the
call to all governments to recognize the
rights and freedoms of their people. In
this regard, the United States applauds
Your Majesty's recent release of
political prisoners, your establishment
of the Royal Consultative Council on
Human Rights in Morocco, and I know
Morocco will not be deterred from this
courageous course.
Your Majesty, we are pleased to
see the UN proceeding with its efforts
to resolve the Western Sahara dispute
with Morocco's support. It took a great
deal of courage for you to agree to the
UN Secretary General's plan for a
referendum, and I confirm America's
willingness to play its role in promoting
a just and lasting settlement in the
Sahara, in accordance with that plan.
In the Gulf, Morocco was among the
first to commit forces in defense of
Saudi Arabia. And when the issue was
still in doubt, Morocco stood on the side
of justice and against aggression.
Today, I can assure you, Your Majesty,
that the United States will continue to
work toward a lasting peace in the
Middle East.
We now see the real prospect of a
peace conference leading to direct
negotiations between Arabs and
Israelis. That process aims at a
comprehensive peace based on UN
Security Council Resolutions 242 and
338, and the principle of territory for
peace.
We seek to elaborate on this
principle to provide for real security
and real peace for all states in the
Middle East, including Israel, and for
recognition of legitimate political rights
of the Palestinian people. Your
Majesty, I look forward to working
with you toward those objectives.
Your Majesty, once again, a warm
welcome to the White House. I look
forward to our talks, and I want to
extend a special welcome to your
daughter, who has accompanied you on
this visit. And I trust the fruits of our
discussion will make the world a better
place for her and for all of our children.
King Hassan 11 [Introductory
remarks deleted]: We are delighted to
respond to your gracious invitation and
to meet with you. Our visit constitutes,
indeed, one important link in a series of
previous visits during which we have
come to establish excellent friendly
relations with many of your predeces-
sors. Mr. President, today's encounter
will certainly renew and strengthen
these relations.
We were no more than a child when
we were introduced to President
Franklin Roosevelt by our late father,
Mohamed V. We never knew person-
ally Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan.
Today we are received by you, Mr.
President, a dear friend of ours whose
distinguished career we have been
following attentively. We have been
following attentively your career, Mr.
President, first when you were ap-
pointed Ambassador to China, then
CIA director, and Vice President to our
great friend, President Reagan, and
finally, President of the United States
of America. Throughout your career,
we have at all times perceived in you a
man of rectitude, humility, deep
thought, true foresight, and
unshakeable faithfulness toward his
friends.
It is true that our last visit to the
United States of America dates back to
1983. However, during these 8 years,
our friendly relations have never been
better. It couldn't have been otherwise
considering that these relations are as
old as your nation. For the 1786 Treaty
of Amity and Peace, signed by Presi-
dent Jefferson and our ancestor
Mohamed III, has always been and still
remains the basis of the excellent
rapport existing between our two
governments and nations.
What makes this friendship exem-
plary is the fact that it has never been
affected by juncture or vicissitude, nor
has it been changing in dimension or
level. It has rather been similar to
itself, unaffected by world crises and
the requirements of the Cold War.
We are looking forward to the talks
we shall have with your excellency and
with a number of officials from the
executive and legislative branch. We
have no doubt that these talks will
reveal the likeness of our views
concerning political and economic
issues.
Mr. President, you know better
than anyone that the Gulf crisis has
made men all over the world realize
that is it mandatory to rely on interna-
tional legality for the solving of world
issues and for the sake of peace and
understanding among the nations. We
sincerely hope that the same legality is
applied in the case of the Middle East.
It is, indeed, hard to believe that the
tragedy of the Middle East has lasted
half a century.
September 30. 1991
732 US Department of State Dispatch
US Department of State Dispatch
732](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/dsptch3&div=179&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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US-Morocco: Longstanding Ties
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