RABAT, Morocco - Prime Minister Stephen Harper walked a careful line between popular protest and the rule of law as he arrived in the Moroccan capital of Rabat late Wednesday.
Harper added the Morocco side trip to a quick visit to Switzerland this week for a UN maternal health commission meeting.
But the one-day stop in Rabat may prove more politically fraught than anticipated.
Four people have set themselves alight in Morocco since last week -- mimicking the tactics of anti-government protesters in Tunisia -- and the Moroccan monarchy has responded by boosting food subsidies.
Popular unrest has already unseated the autocratic Tunisian government, and protests are widespread in Egypt.
Harper, when asked whether he backs democratic protests, responded cautiously that his government "has been very consistent in our support for the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
He would not elaborate at a press conference in Geneva before embarking for Rabat, where he was met on the tarmac by King Mohammed's appointed prime minister.
The purpose of the Morocco stop-over is difficult to pinpoint..
Canada's two-way trade with the North African country is a mere $500 million a year.
Harper's officials have stressed the Moroccan diaspora in Canada, noting especially that most of the 100,000 Canadians of Moroccan descent live in Quebec.
Harper also made a point Wednesday of noting Morocco's Muslim and Jewish mix.
The minority Conservative government has been wooing ethnic Canadian minorities since coming to office five years ago.
Highlighting good relations with the moderate Muslim state of Morocco may also help salve the sting of Canada's nasty and expensive dispute with the United Arab Emirates over airline landing rights.
The prime minister is to return to Canada late Thursday night.
