Sahara News by Lemine Ould Sidi
Morocco’s ambassador to Nairobi, El Mokhtar Ghambou, called on Kenya, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to support the autonomy plan presented by the Kingdom to achieve a solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue.
“I call on the Kenyan government to support the autonomy plan for the southern provinces under Moroccan sovereignty, an initiative hailed and adopted by many world powers, such as the United States, and deemed as ‘serious and credible’ by the UN Security Council,” said the Moroccan diplomat in an interview broadcast Thursday by KTN News.
Ghambou also stressed the need for Kenya, a country which defends the territorial integrity of African countries, to support United Nations resolutions with a view to achieving a peaceful and political solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue. He highlighted, in this regard, the unwavering attachment of the Sahrawi population to the Motherland, Morocco, as evidenced by its very high participation reaching more than 80% in local, regional and legislative elections.
“It is a clear proof which confirms the attachment of the Saharawis to their Motherland”, stressed Ghambou during the program “The Diplomat”. The Moroccan ambassador shed light on the development momentum and the economic boom that the southern provinces of the Kingdom are currently experiencing. “Before its liberation in 1975, the Moroccan Sahara was a simple desert devoid of infrastructure and economic equipment.
Today, it has become one of the most important economic and commercial poles of Morocco,” he said, adding that the opening by more than 20 countries of their consular representations in the cities of Dakhla and Laayoune is a fact which strengthens the international dynamic of recognition of the territorial integrity of Morocco.
The United States’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is not a “sudden or hasty decision, as some claim, but rather reflects the conviction of successive American administrations as to the credibility of the autonomy plan for the southern provinces presented by Morocco in 2007 to the United Nations”. This decision, he said, reflects the distinguished centuries-old relations between Morocco and the United States since their independence in 1776.
Ghambou underlined that Morocco which signed a free trade agreement in 2004 with the United States is “ready to help Kenya to succeed in its project of signing a similar agreement with the U.S.”. He pointed out that “Morocco’s commitment to South-South cooperation is guided by a far-sighted Royal Vision, which places the human element at the heart of all actions and initiatives, with the objective of stimulating investment and trade while focusing on co-development.”
The agreements signed recently between Moroccan regions and Kenyan counties are part of the economic and cultural promotion of the pan-African approach to South-South cooperation initiated and advocated by HM the King, and which focuses on mutual sharing and exchange of strategic development solutions, the diplomat said.
