Texten till Hillary Clintons intervju i Marocko

Marrakech - The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commended the reforms instituted by HM King Mohammed VI in various fields.
 
In
an interview with MAP and Moroccan TV channel Al Oula, on the sidelines
of her particpation in the sixth ministerial meeting of the Forum for
the Future, held in Marrakech on November 2-3, Clinton expressed
appreciation for the changes initited under the leadership of HM the
King.

Here follows the full text of the interview:

Question
: During the last ten years, His Majesty the King initiated reforms
across-the-board in social and economic sectors, but also in Human
rights and more specifically in women’s rights. What is your take on
these changes that have been going on?
 
Hillary Clinton:
First, let me say that I am delighted to speak with you. I always enjoy
my visits to Morocco . I was here ten years ago and I have very fond
memories of that trip and a prior trip. So for me it’s a special
privilege. And I wanted to express my appreciation as I did to His
Majesty Mohammed VI for the changes that he is instituting and under
his leadership the government of Morocco is following through on. I
think that the changes are important. I particularly applaud the new
freedom for women. It has enhanced the cooperation and the
participation that women have been able to show. I know that in recent
local elections, women, three thousand women were elected. I think this
will make Morocco a stronger country. I think that will make Morocco a
stronger country. The more you involve the citizen, the more you
empower citizen to make responsible decisions, the stronger Morocco
will be.
 
Question; Madame Secretary, as you know,
Morocco and the United States are two countries tied by a free trade
agreement, which is by the way the only with an African country, how
can the two countries combine their efforts to enhance economic ties?
 
Hillary Clinton:
Well of course, we are very proud that our relationships with Morocco
go back to more than 220 years. It’s the longest relationship in the
world, unbroken by any kind of difficulty. And the recent free trade
agreement would, which I had the privilege to vote for when I was a
senator from New York is a modern example of this very deep and broad
relationship. I think the significance of it is, as you say, the first
free trade agreement with any country in Africa on a bilateral basis, a
recognition that Morocco ’s economy is growing and the United States
wants to invest. It is also a platform for further work that we must do
together.
 
Question: Yesterday, Madame Secretary you
reaffirmed that there is no change in the Obama Administration position
as per the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Sahara . Would you like to
elaborate some more ?
 
Hillary Clinton: This is a plan
as you know that originated during the Clinton Administration. It was
reaffirmed in the Bush Administration and it remains the policy of the
United States in the Obama Administration. Now we are supporting the
United Nations process because we think that if there can be a peaceful
resolution to the difficulties that exist with your neighbours both to
the east, to the south, to the west that is in everyone’s interest.
Because of our long relationship, we are very aware of how challenging
the circumstances are. And I don’t want anyone in the region or
elsewhere to have any doubt about our policy which remains the same.
 
Question:
President Obama has more than once called for a renewed, a new
beginning with the Islamic world. How can Morocco, with longstanding
tradition of tolerance and coexistence, help in this regard and how do
you envision the two countries future in light of the Cairo speech?
 
Hillary Clinton:
It’s an excellent question because I think that Morocco is especially
well positioned to take a leadership role and fulfilling the call for
greater cooperation and understanding set forth in his Cairo speech. We
are looking to Morocco as model in many areas. We think that in this
area of greater understanding between the United States and the Muslim
world, Morocco can help lead the way.
 
Question: How can both countries again combine efforts to help advance the peace process towards a two-state solution?
 
Hillary Clinton:
I think by continuing the very helpful support for the process,
recognizing how difficult it is for the parties to do this solely on
their own, that they need other countries and leaders like Majesty. To
be very much pushing and prodding the process along and I think
refraining from inflammatory comments that sometimes come from others
in the region which unfortunately get everyone agitated and stall the
process. This is very difficult work. It’s intensely time consuming
effort. The President has evidence to a great sincerity and commitment.
But, we know that you have to build on that by the painstaking outreach
to both. We would welcome and seek the active support of all the
others.
 
Question: We are going to move a little bit
away from the Near East. I would like to ask a question about the
Maghreb region and its neighbourhood. This region is facing several
challenges, not least of which the economic ones which are made now
more problematic because Moroccan and Algerian borders are closed for
the time being, and also because of Al-Qaida in the Maghreb which is
causing a lot of problems. What is your take on this situation and how
can we move towards a more positive path?
 
Hillary Clinton:
We are grateful for our close cooperation with Morocco and other
countries in the region to counter terrorism and law enforcement and
for our mutual cooperation against AlQaida, other terrorist groups,
against drug traffickers and human traffikers. So we are committed to
working with you and other nations to help defend yourself and create a
more positive atmosphere. But we also hope that there can be a greater
regional understanding and cooperation across borders, opening up
borders, economic cooperation which would be beneficial. If you look
across North Africa, through the Maghreb, there is such an opportunity
to build a region of economic success. That requires political
discussion and consultation. We would encourage our friends, certainly
Morocco and others, to see how possible that might be and not be
discouraged by the difficulty of starting such consultations.