In 2017, Algeria spent more than $ 421,000 on lobbying to promote its positions with the Trump administration, reports a ranking conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).
The numbers provided by the study are based on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a «political or quasi-political capacity» disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances.
The amount of money spent by Algiers is totally funded by the Algerian government, as the report doesn't feature non-governmental sources.
The Boston-based law firm Foley Hoag is the channel chosen by the eastern neighbor to broadcast its messages in the United States. The firm is still operating, while in 2013, it was about to be dismissed by the Robert Kennedy Center, chaired by Kerry Kennedy, especially during the last years of the Mohamed Abdelaziz era.
Morocco has a new lobbyist
For Morocco, online newspaper Al-Monitor reports that the firm has been successful lately. It has managed to make the United Nations Secretary General relaunch the negotiation process between Morocco and the Polisario.
It also succeeded in including the Sahara question in a bill submitted to the Senate. It campaigned against the appointment of Peter Pham, known as «Mr. Africa» in the Trump administration.
Its main failure, according to the same source, is the 2017 State Department on Human Rights report, which called the «SADR»'s flags «separatist».
Moreover, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), the Kingdom spent almost $ 1.8 million in 2017, distributed as follows: $ 239,800 from the Moroccan government and $ 1,538,962 from non-governmental parties.
Last January, Morocco was offered the services of a new lobbying company in the United States, the Glover Park Group (GPG), for a period of 18 months. The amount of the contract is $ 360,000. GPG will have to revitalize relations with the Trump administration and promote US investment in the Kingdom.