The United States on Sunday began the process of starting a consulate in the disputed Western Sahara, after Washington recognized Morocco’s sovereignty there in exchange for normalizing Rabat’s ties with Israel.
US Ambassador David Fischer visited the port of Dakhla, 1,440 kilometers (895 miles) southwest of Rabat, in the far south of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, to mark the start of work on a diplomatic mission. .
“It is such an honor for me to visit this incredibly beautiful and critically important region of Morocco and to begin the process of establishing a U.S. diplomatic presence here,” Fischer said, according to the U.S. Embassy.
Western Sahara is a controversial and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Moroccan rule, where tensions with the Polisario Front have been waning before independence since the 1970s.
Last year, Morocco joined the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to normalize ties with Israel under US-brokered deals.
In return, US President Donald Trump achieved a decade-old Moroccan goal by backing his controversial sovereignty over the arid but phosphate-rich region, which lies along major Atlantic fishing zones.
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said on Sunday that “Morocco feels stronger in its legitimate struggle for its territorial integrity … with the support of its friends.”
The Algerian Polisario Front waged a war of independence from 1975 to 1991 and controlled about a fifth of the desert area.
Some 20 countries, mostly African and Arab, have already opened diplomatic offices in Moroccan territory, but the Polisario regards such steps as violations of international law.
Bachir Mustapha Sayed, a representative of the Polisario’s Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, called the visit of the US delegation a “propaganda tourist trip” and recalled that the Trump administration would come to an end in less than two weeks. an interview with the Algerian press agency. APS.
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UN peacekeepers in Western Sahara have been tasked with organizing a referendum on self-determination for the region, and despite the move by Washington, the UN insists its position is “unchanged”.
In November, the Polisario announced that it had declared a ceasefire null and void in 1991, after Morocco sent troops to a UN buffer zone to reopen a key road.
Bourita said on Sunday that Morocco continues to “support the ceasefire but respond to any provocation”, adding that Rabat “will support the UN process … to find a solution to this long-standing dispute”.
Fischer, who on Sunday called the visit another historic milestone in more than 200 years of ‘friendship’ between Morocco and the US, was accompanied by David Schenker, assistant foreign minister.
The pair wore flowing white embroidered robes traditionally worn over their suits in the area.
In December, the US State Department opened a “virtual” diplomatic post in Western Sahara before finding a suitable place to build a consulate.
The building is expected to be ready in the coming months, Fischer added.
Last month, Fischer said a consulate would allow Washington “to further exploit Morocco’s strategic position as a hub for trade in Africa, Europe and the Middle East”.
The agreement between Morocco and Israel to normalize ties is expected to involve significant investments from the US International Development Finance Corporation, and Morocco hopes that Dakhla can become a major local port.
Last month, the DFC submitted a memorandum to invest $ 3 billion over the next four years in Morocco or with Moroccan partners working in sub-Saharan Africa.
It also promises an initiative to ‘catalyze $ 1 billion in investments in projects that promote the economic empowerment of women in the Middle East and North Africa’.
Elected US President Joe Biden, who will replace Trump on January 20, made no public comment on Western Sahara.
sof / pjm / sw