Morocco’s Transformation: King Mohammed VI’s 25-Year Reign Explored in New Documentary

On Saturday, a rare 52-minute documentary on the 25 years of reign of King Mohammed VI was broadcast on the Public Sénat news channel. This documentary entitled "The Journey of a King. The Morocco of Mohammed VI," and directed by journalists Yves Derai and Michaël Darmon, is a condensed version of archival documents and testimonies from Moroccan and French political figures who "have rubbed shoulders with the sovereign during his twenty-five years in power," reports Libération. The Moroccan sovereign’s distancing from the governance style of his father, Hassan II, his discretion, his offensive diplomacy, the kingdom’s economy... The 25 years of King Mohammed VI’s reign are combed through.

Arriving on the throne in 1999, at only 36 years old, the young sovereign is described as "the king of the young," who breaks with certain codes of the traditional protocol of the monarchy. As a child, he had a temperament similar to that of his grandfather, Mohammed V, who died in 1961. The young heir is a "very kind, very endearing child, who is neither pretentious nor arrogant," describes a teacher. His dream was to become a pilot.

Very early on, the young sovereign made the choice of discretion. If not of silence. Rare are the interviews he grants to the Moroccan and foreign media. "We never talk about the king himself, we never put him in line," according to a formula from his entourage. In twenty-five years, Mohammed VI has accustomed Moroccans to the royal speeches - delivered in particular on the occasion of the Throne Feast - which have become annual events.

On the economic level, significant progress has been recorded in 25 years of reign to the point that the sovereign is considered a "modernizing king," the one who has succeeded in raising his country to the rank of the fifth African power, with a GDP that has just crossed the $140 billion mark. Among the progress, we can note the significant transformation of the kingdom’s infrastructure (the port of TangerMed, highways, high-speed rail lines, airports), the positioning of Morocco as a leader in renewable energies.

What about Moroccan soft power? It is underway under King Mohammed VI through sports, culture and tourism. Morocco became in 2022 the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. The kingdom will host the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) next year. It will also co-host the 2030 World Cup, alongside Spain and Portugal.

On the diplomatic front, King Mohammed VI uses ingenuity. In December 2020, Morocco normalized its diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. Nearly 80 UN member states are now aligned with the Moroccan position on the Western Sahara. In late July, France finally followed the example of Spain, Germany and Israel in recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.

Certainly, notable advances have been recorded over the past two decades, but efforts remain to be made in terms of women’s rights, poverty reduction, etc.

https://youtu.be/IIMNl3Qr5rE