Morocco under King Mohammed VI: 27 years of major transformations | Tarek El Bouzidi

Twenty-seven years after King Mohammed VI ascended the throne, the achievements of his reign cannot be reduced merely to completed projects or established institutions, as vital as they are. The deepest transformation is embodied in a renewed royal vision that reshaped the functions of the state and its relationship with citizens, linked political reform to social justice, and framed sovereignty as a comprehensive project driven forward by diplomacy, development, and the consolidation of Morocco’s presence in its African and international surroundings.

This trajectory began in the early years of his reign with the introduction of the “New Concept of Authority,” which carried a shift toward proximity, citizen service, and connecting administration to its developmental responsibilities. This was followed by the creation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission in 2004 to open a new chapter in managing the country’s human rights history through truth-seeking, reparations, and formulating guarantees against recurrence. In the same year, the reform of the Family Code (Moudawana) brought about a social and legal transition that made advancing the status of women and families an integral part of modernizing society.

Building continued with the restoration of recognition for Morocco’s cultural diversity, starting with the establishment of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture, up to the constitutional recognition of Amazigh alongside Arabic as an official language in the 2011 Constitution. The Constitution marked a pivotal milestone in state modernization by expanding the powers of the government and parliament, strengthening judicial independence, constitutionalizing governance and human rights institutions, and enacting advanced regionalization.

The royal approach was distinguished by its capacity to merge reform with stability, developing institutions within the continuity of the state and its historical and constitutional legitimacy. Furthermore, the monarchy provided major national projects with a strategic momentum that transcends successive governments and electoral cycles, ensuring the continuity of choices tied to state unity, societal cohesion, and development priorities.

This vision did not stop at building constitutional foundations; it extended to renewing the development model itself. When the need arose to enhance the impact of public policies, the King launched the initiative for the New Development Model, placing human capital, the unleashing of potential, and social and spatial justice at the heart of a new phase. This capacity to review tools and update priorities reveals leadership that views reform as an ongoing process interacting with the transformations of society and the world.

In the social sphere, the royal vision progressed from fighting poverty and vulnerability through the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) in 2005 to founding the social state through a more comprehensive and sustainable system. The declaration of universal social protection coverage in 2020 marked a decisive turning point, as health coverage expanded to groups previously excluded from traditional systems, direct social assistance was launched, and the Unified Social Register became the tool for directing support to eligible families.

By 2024, the number of beneficiaries under the Mandatory Basic Health Insurance (AMO) systems managed by the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) rose to 24.3 million people, compared to 8.6 million in 2021. During 2025, 3.9 million families benefited from direct social support, while total disbursements since the program’s launch in December 2023 reached approximately 51 billion dirhams. This reflects the transition of social action from scattered interventions into an institutionalized policy that makes social protection a pillar of state and societal stability.

Regarding the Moroccan Sahara issue, the royal vision clearly demonstrated its ability to bring about a deep strategic transformation in managing the dossier. His reign began when the issue was governed by a logic of defense, reaction, and waiting for international initiatives that remained unable to break the stalemate. The King rebuilt the Moroccan approach on the foundations of political initiative, diplomatic proactivity, field development, African engagement, and the legal and economic consolidation of sovereignty.

Since 2008, the King outlined the contours of a “renewed methodology” based on local governance, broad participation, and instilling a developmental and solidarity-driven depth into national unity. The submission of the Autonomy Initiative in 2007 pulled the dossier out of outdated proposals and presented the international community with a realistic, actionable political solution within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.

The initiative did not remain a mere negotiation document; it became the cornerstone of a long-term diplomatic strategy. This strategy gradually shifted Morocco from explaining the justice of its cause to expanding international recognition of the Moroccan status of the Sahara, and from confronting opposing narratives to establishing autonomy as the most serious and credible benchmark for a solution. Moroccan action thus moved from reaction to initiative, resolve, and proactivity, as expressed by King Mohammed VI.

Domestically, the royal vision linked the consolidation of sovereignty to creating a new developmental reality. The Development Model for the Southern Provinces was launched, the Tiznit-Dakhla expressway was completed, and progress accelerated on the Dakhla Atlantic Port, alongside water, energy, training, and investment projects. Thus, the Sahara transformed from an arena that opponents sought to keep captive to an artificial conflict into a hub for development, stability, and openness toward Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, Morocco’s return to the African Union in 2017 brought the Kingdom back to the heart of continental action. Royal initiatives—ranging from the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project to the African Atlantic States Initiative and enabling Sahel landlocked countries access to the Atlantic—expanded the strategic role of the southern provinces. Enshrining sovereignty came to pass through investment, trade exchange, the opening of consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, and linking the future of the Sahara to African economic integration.

This approach yielded US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara, followed by the French position supporting Moroccan sovereignty and the autonomy initiative as the sole basis for a solution, alongside the Spanish stance and growing international support for the initiative. In October 2024, the King affirmed that Morocco had moved in its national cause “from the management phase to the change phase,” after shifting from defending its position to altering the equations of the file both internally and externally.

This trajectory was capped by UN Security Council Resolution 2797, issued on October 31, 2025, which placed the Autonomy Initiative at the core of the path toward a definitive political solution. The King described that date as a decisive turning point, emphasizing that two-thirds of UN member states now consider the Moroccan initiative the sole framework for a solution, alongside the growing recognition of the Kingdom’s economic sovereignty over its southern provinces.

The record of Mohammed VI’s reign reveals a vision that maintained steadfast objectives while renewing operational tools. Morocco moved from modernizing the concept of authority to building the social state, from managing cultural diversity to enshrining it constitutionally, and from traditional defense of territorial integrity to altering its fundamental dynamics. Sovereignty, reform, and development have thus become interconnected paths within a royal project that has strengthened state capacity, societal cohesion, and Morocco’s standing both regionally and internationally.