Guatemala support Morocco and decided to open a consulate in Dakhla

Western Sahara is an area along Africa’s Atlantic coast colonized by Spain in the 19th century. 85% of the region has been under the control of Morocco since 1975.

The pro-independence Polisario Front demands that a popular referendum be held in Western Sahara, a proposal backed by Algeria supporting self-determination while  Morocco proposes autonomy for Western Sahara, under his sovereignty to resolve the problem.

“Guatemala has reiterated its clear position on the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, considering that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the solution to this dispute, and announces the decision to open a consulate in the city of Dakhla to take advantage of its economic potential and its openness to the rest of the African continent”, indicates a joint press release published after a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans residing abroad, Nasser Bourita, and his Guatemalan counterpart, Mario Bucaro Flores. “For us, the concepts of sovereignty, peace, and territorial integrity are very important. We support Morocco’s position on this issue and we will continue to support Morocco forever”, said the head of diplomacy of Guatemala, in a statement to the press, at the end of this interview held on the sidelines of the General Assembly. United Nations. Mr. Bucaro Flores “highly appreciated the reforms undertaken in Morocco under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, as well as His role and contribution to solving the problems of Africa and the Arab world by peaceful means”. Morocco and Guatemala have decided to “give impetus to bilateral cooperation in the areas of tourism, training, and energy, with particular emphasis on agriculture and fertilizers, at a time when the world faces an acute food crisis,” the joint statement read.

En marge des travaux de #UNGA77 M. Nasser Bourita a tenu un entretien bilatéral aujourd’hui à New York, avec le ministre des Affaires Etrangères de Guatemala, M. Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, sanctionné par la signature d’un communiqué conjoint.
🔗https://t.co/yO6hsGQPqG#UNGA pic.twitter.com/jOHb9WOqOs

— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) September 23, 2022

The kingdom of Morocco is receiving strong international backing for its formula for resolving the Sahrawi conflict, based on broad autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty and respecting UN resolutions. This great diplomatic support had its key moment when Donald Trump’s US administration recognised the Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara in December 2020, something reaffirmed by Joe Biden. Subsequently, other nations such as Germany Hungary, and Spain recognised the Moroccan initiative as the most “realistic, serious and credible” way to solve the Western Sahara problem.

The free population of Western Sahara expressed also its support for the autonomy plan under the sovereignty of Morocco.

The Sahrawi Movement for Peace, created in April 2020, as a political movement, as an alternative to the Polisario front, in order to promote the reunification of the Sahrawis, in its 1st international conference held on September 22 and 23,  in the presence of several guests and Spanish politicians, sheiks and notables from the Southern Provinces and certain Mauritanian figures, highlighted the historical relations between Morocco and Spain, condemn the intransigence of the Polisario.

The sheikhs affirmed that the Polisario, despite its pretensions, is not the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi population and appeal to the Saharawi population to contribute to a peaceful solution to the conflict and recalled that the SMP is betting on the peaceful way and dialogue for the resolution of the conflict.

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