The Moroccan government says it is strengthening ties with African countries that have a “clear position” on the Sahrawi issue, raising the ante of soft power by Rabat to endorse its autonomy plan.
Moroccan Ambassador to Kenya Abderrazzak Laasel said his country was no longer interested in forcing the hand of countries to abandon the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). But he admitted the SADR existence as a separate entity impedes economic partnerships with those with ties with Morocco.
“In the past, we used to sever ties with anyone with relations with the SADR. Now we have abandoned it and we don’t want force. But we are working with our colleagues to grow relations that benefit our people,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
“Our King, Mohamed IV, has made a decision that we only engage countries with a clear position on this issue,” he said in Nairobi on Tuesday.
The diplomat was speaking in the background of recent efforts to undercut recognition of the SADR which controls a portion of Western Sahara region but runs affairs from exile in Algeria led by the Polisario Front.
For years, the Polisario Front has claimed independence of the portion it controls even though Morocco insists the region is part of the territory.
When the African Union’s (AU) precursor organisation, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), admitted the SADR as a member back in 1982, Morocco protested and quit the organisation. However, Rabat returned in 2017 to the African Union. It has been lobbying countries to cut ties with SADR.
“This was a big mistake by our neighbours to put Morocco in a tight position,” Mr Laasel said of the decision to admit SADR then at an OAU conference in Nairobi which Rabat says was lobbied by Algeria.