DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP) – Trawlers are packing up the bustling Western Sahara port of Dakhla, where fish scales are glistening from workers’ arms as they roll up their nets and shout at buyers in a sprawling auction warehouse. In the area, turquoise waters are wide, almost empty Atlantic beaches and eaters drink tea in sidewalk cafes.
The United States plans to put its footprint in this picturesque setting.
The US Ambassador to Morocco, David T. Fischer, attended a ceremony in Dakhla on Sunday, the first formal step to open a consulate, which was a turning point for the controversial and meticulous area in North Africa.
The US move recognizes Morocco’s authority over the country – in return for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel.
Fischer was accompanied by the highest official of the State Department in the region, David Schenker. Both diplomats wore white Moroccan clothes.
“Our trip to Dakhla today is another historic milestone in more than 200 years of friendship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America,” the US Embassy quoted in Morocco’s Twitter account.
While this shift in U.S. foreign policy frustrates the indigenous Sahrawis who have been seeking Western Sahara’s independence for decades, others are seeing new opportunities for trade and tourism that will provide a welcome boost to the region and sunny coastal cities like Dakhla.
The US ambassador said during the speech that the opening of a consulate is a plus for the United States, allowing it to further exploit Morocco’s strategic position as a hub for trade in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. . ‘ Investment and development projects will benefit the region, he added.
A portrait of Moroccan king Mohammed VI, waving behind his sunglasses, hangs from the winding arch that greets people arriving in Dakhla. The face of the king is on a map that includes Western Sahara as an integral part of Morocco.
Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, sparking a 16-year war and then 30 years of diplomatic and military stalemate between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an organization seeking Western Sahara independence and based in Algeria. backed up. The protracted territorial dispute limited Western Sahara’s ties with the outside world.
Khatat Yanja, head of Dakhla’s regional council, is looking forward to the US arrival that will open up his city to new markets and persuade more tourists to enjoy the beaches, local wares and breathtaking sunsets. He expressed hope for US investment in tourism, renewable energy, farming and especially fishing.
“We appreciate such a gesture,” Yanja said of the future consulate. ‘It will open a whole new chapter when it comes to investing in this region by employing people and creating more resources. It will also open more doors for international trade. ”
The main fishing port is the lifeline of the local economy, with 70% of Dakhla’s workforce. Thousands of boats bring in 500,000 tons of fish a year, for exports worth 2.2 billion dirhams ($ 249 million) a year, according to port director Bintaleb Elhassan.
Among herds of roaring seagulls, fishermen haul sardines and mackerel to warehouses where the catch is auctioned off neatly unfolded bowls. In processing plants in the area, rows of women, including migrants from across Africa, clean and sort the fish.
Morocco strictly monitors the region. During a recent visit to Dakhla, authorities closely monitored an Associated Press reporter as visitors and residents often are.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker visited Dakhla and Western Sahara’s largest city, Laayoune, on Saturday. He and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita are expected to unveil a temporary diplomatic outpost on Sunday.
Although the consulate is not expected to open for six to twelve months, Schenker’s trip is a way for the US to reaffirm its commitment to Western Sahara before President Donald Trump leaves office.
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, helped market a normalization deal between Morocco and Israel announced last month, as part of a series of historic agreements. which Arab countries in return won large favors from Washington.
Trump said the goal of the Western Sahara consulate would be “to promote economic and trade opportunities in the region,” which is about the size of Colorado and is believed to have considerable foreign oil deposits and mineral resources.
The representative of the Polisario Front at the United Nations, Sidi Omar, on Saturday called on the incoming government of US President Joe Biden to reverse Trump’s decision.
“The US cannot both support the role of the UN in resolving conflict in Western Sahara and endorse Moroccan sovereignty,” Omar tweeted.
Western Sahara’s economy is run by Morocco, which has built most of the region’s infrastructure and encouraged Moroccans to settle there. But the United Nations and most world governments do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the country, which limits Morocco’s ability to export its resources and complicates trade transactions.
For many people in Dakhla, at least those who are allowed to talk to visiting journalists, it seems that local concerns outweigh geopolitical ones. Residents commute to work, sell clementines, buy jewelry, enjoy local specialties in sidewalk cafes and frolic with their dogs on quiet beaches.
US recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco has drawn criticism from UN and US allies. African observers have said it could destabilize the wider region, which is already struggling with Islamic insurgency and trafficking in migrants.
The action particularly supported Sahrawis, who want a referendum on the future of the area, and neighboring Algeria, which houses Sahrawi refugees, and the Polisario. Schenker has also visited Algeria in recent days.
The US will join a small but growing number of countries with consulates in the region, the most recent representative of Gambia.
Gambia feels grateful for Morocco’s support, including Morocco building the new Foreign Ministry building in Gambia. Morocco also continues to provide training bursaries for Gambian students, ”Consul General Ousmane Badjie told The AP in his office, where a portrait of the Moroccan king also hangs.
Sahrawi activists have held protests in several Spanish and French cities over the US move, but Washington did not directly address their concerns when the State Department formally notified Congress on December 24 of its plans to open a consulate not..
Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo has just said that the United States will support political negotiations to resolve the issues between Morocco and the Polisario within the framework of Morocco’s autonomy plan. “
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Matthew Lee in Washington, and Angela Charlton in Paris, contributed to this report.