Mohammed Jaabouk
Latifa Babas
Journalist at Yabiladi.com
Morocco’s diplomatic campaign in Latin America has finally paid off. After resuming diplomatic relations with the Kingdom in April 2017, the Cuban authorities have appointed their first ambassador to Rabat.
Since resuming diplomatic relations in 2017, Morocco and Cuba have seen their friendship and ties move forward. La Havana has decided to appoint Javier Domokos Ruiz as an ambassador to the Kingdom, diplomatic sources in Rabat told Spanish news agency EFE.
Morocco and Cuba resumed diplomatic relations on April 21, 2017, ending 37 years of rupture. After presenting his credentials to the Moroccan authorities, the Cuban diplomat will have to visit Rabat to chose the seat of the embassy and a residence for his personnel, the same source added. Javier Domokos Ruiz served before as Cuba’s consul to Toronto, Canada.
After formally normalizing relations with Rabat, Cuba appointed Elio Eduaro Rodriguez Perdomo, as the country’s non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Morocco. The diplomat was based in Paris and he visited Morocco twice since his appointment. In August 2018, he visited Morocco to present credentials, and met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rabat.
During his second visit in May 2019, he held meetings with the National Education Minister, Youth and Sports Minister and the Mayor of Rabat.
Will Cuba try to reassure the Polisario as in 2017 ?
After making this giant leap forward, will authorities in La Havana try to allay Brahim Ghali’s fears, as in 2017? In fact, just days after announcing that it had resumed diplomatic ties with Morocco, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party Granma published a daring article entitled : «Cuba-Morocco : Building bridges without neglecting history and principles».
Three months later, La Havana received the Polisario’s leader Brahim Ghali. The latter flew back to Cuba in December 2018.
The appointment of a new Cuban ambassador to Rabat comes as the kingdom managed to diplomatically conquer Latin America and the Caribbean region. In June, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said on his Twitter account that San Salvador has withdrawn its recognition of «SADR». The decision was announced after Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita visited the country as part of a tour to Latin America.
Days later, Barbados announced that it withdrew recognition of «SADR», during a visit conducted by the country’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley to Morocco.
For the record, the kingdom has a diplomatic representation in La Havana, headed by ambassador Boughaleb El Attar, who was appointed in April 2018 by King Mohammed VI. The Moroccan diplomat submitted his credentials to the Cuban authorities on June 29.
