On June 24 in Rabat, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Kao Kim Hourn, voiced his support for Morocco's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Just two weeks later, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent his Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, to Malaysia for a meeting with the ASEAN chief. The meeting took place on Tuesday, July 8, in Kuala Lumpur, where the Malaysian capital is hosting the 58th session of the ASEAN Executive Council from July 8 to 11. According to a statement from Algeria's foreign ministry, discussions between Attaf and Kao Kim Hourn «focused on strengthening the partnership between Algeria and ASEAN», following Algeria's recent accession to the organization's treaty. In this regional context, however, Morocco maintains a clear advantage over its eastern neighbor. Rabat officially joined the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in September 2016, and by September 2023, it had secured the status of a sectoral dialogue partner with ASEAN. The most recent session of the ASEAN–Morocco Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (AM-JSCC) was held on November 27, 2024, in Jakarta, with another meeting scheduled for November 2025. ASEAN includes ten member countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Meanwhile, Algeria continues to seek international platforms to rival Morocco's growing diplomatic reach. Before courting ASEAN, Algiers attempted to build closer ties with the Visegrád Group—Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia—all NATO members. Notably, Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita attended a Visegrád Group ministerial meeting in Budapest on December 7, 2021.
