Morocco

Why in news?

• Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
• As part of the agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump changed longstanding U.S. policy and recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

About Morocco:

• Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco is a country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa.
• It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with land borders with Algeria to the east and Western Sahara (status disputed) to the south.
• Morocco also claims the exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, all of them under Spanish jurisdiction, as well as several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast.
• The capital is Rabat and the largest city is Casablanca.
• Morocco spans an area of 710,850 km2 and has a population of over 36 million.
• The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.
• The King of Morocco comes from the Alaouite dynasty, which seized power in 1631.
• Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean and the African Union.

Western Sahara:

• Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa.
• About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario, while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighbouring Morocco.
• Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres.
• It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands.
• The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Which of the following cities in Morocco played host to 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference which was also the first meeting of parties to the Paris climate change agreement?
(a)Rabat
(b)Agadir
(c)Marrakech
(d)Tangier

Answer to prelims question