Rabat – Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense in the Tanzanian parliament, Edward Lowassa Ngayai, said Monday his country would work for the return of Morocco to the African Union (AU), stressing that such a move “could encourage a settlement to its (Morocco) advantage” of the Sahara issue.
“We are in perfect harmony with the U.N. resolutions and Tanzania is satisfied with the autonomy proposal to the southern provinces put forward by Morocco as a solution to the Sahara issue. We consider that the return of the Kingdom to AU can only encourage a swift settlement in its favor,” said Ngayai Lowassa, during a meeting in Rabat with members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Expatriates in the Parliament.
To this end, the Tanzanian MP expressed his country’s “full willingness” to “punch its weight on the continental level, in particular, in order to provide the necessary support to Morocco to settle to the Sahara conflict that has dragged on for too long” he said.
“The Moroccan autonomy plan must be supported by all African countries and we will defend the proposal and convey the reality of this issue to our partners, because our goal is to see the Sahara in good hands as part of a united Africa,” added Lowassa, who also welcomed the reforms undertaken in Morocco in various fields.
In their comments, members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense in the Tanzanian parliament recalled that the visit to Morocco, after the one made in late 2010, mirrors Tanzania’s willingness to deepen its relations with the Kingdom.
To this end, both parties agreed that a Moroccan parliamentary delegation will conduct a similar visit to Tanzania by the end of next summer, at the invitation of the Parliament of this country.
“Morocco has withdrawn from the Organization of African Unity (…) but not from Africa, where it remains grounded and maintains deep relationships with most countries of the continent,” Naima Farrah, first vice president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Expatriates, stressed for her part.
She warned against the inhuman conditions under which lives the sequestered population in Tindouf that “became a place for both the proliferation and export of terrorism.”
She also welcomed the visit to Morocco of the Tanzanian delegation to give new impetus to bilateral relations.
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