Morocco has hired a complex web of lobbying and public relations firms in a souped-up bid to get the United States on its side in its dispute over the Western Sahara.

The North African kingdom spent $3.4 million — second only to the United Arab Emirates among Arab nations — in 2013 trying to influence Congress and the Obama administration, a review of lobbying disclosure records shows. The campaign aims to showcase Morocco as a moderate and stable business and security partner in an effort to convince the United States not to challenge its controversial occupation of the disputed territory.

The public relations (PR) push has largely paid off, with the Obama administration backing off its earlier support for a UN mechanism to monitor Morocco's alleged human rights violations in the desert region.

"U.S.-Morocco relations are likely to remain strong, despite recent tensions over U.N. human rights monitoring in Western Sahara," the Congressional Research Service notes in its most recent report on the bilateral relationship. "This is particularly the case as Morocco and the United States share an interest in promoting stability and economic development amid ongoing regional tumult."