Office of the Historian

196. Memorandum From Secretary of State Haig to President Reagan1

Washington, October 7, 1981

[Omitted here is material unrelated to Morocco.]

2. Moroccan Foreign Minister. I gave Moroccan Foreign Minister Boucetta a strong message of encouragement this evening2 to calm any nervousness which King Hassan may have in the wake of Sadat’s [Page 427] assassination.3 He believes that in the wake of Sadat’s death moderate Muslim countries such as Morocco, Jordan and Saudi Arabia need to stand closely together and Boucetta promised that Morocco will work for stability and moderation in the region.

Boucetta passed on a request from King Hassan to postpone his visit to Washington until after the Arab Summit which Hassan will host in November.4 The King believes that the burden of preparations for the Summit would be great and that the visit would be more profitable after his conclave with Arab leaders. I told Boucetta that we would work out a mutually convenient date for the King’s visit. Boucetta also expressed appreciation for our support of Morocco on the Western Saharan issue. He said Morocco was now ready for a referendum of the Saharan population and was sure that it would win. He asked that we continue to support Morocco diplomatically in its efforts to solve the Saharan question; he was assured of our support. (C)

  1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Agency File, Secretary Haig’s Evening Report (09/22/1981–10/08/1981). Confidential.↩
  2. No other record of the Haig-Boucetta conversation was found.↩
  3. Sadat was assassinated by an Egyptian soldier on October 6, 1981. Documentation is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. XIX, Arab-Israeli Dispute.↩
  4. Not found.↩