Colombia reconoce la soberanía marroquí sobre el Sáhara Occidental

Morocco and Colombia continue to strengthen their bilateral relations. Following the agreements signed last April, the partnership between the two countries is intensifying after a new meeting between Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Colombian counterpart, Marta Lucía Ramírez.

Ramirez, who is Vice-President as well as Minister, announced during the joint press conference that the consular jurisdiction of the Colombian Embassy in Rabat will extend over "the whole of Moroccan territory, including, obviously, Western Sahara".

With regard to the Saharawi question, in April, the former foreign minister, Claudia Blum, already indicated Colombia's efforts to reach a "realistic and lasting political solution based on the commitment of all parties to put an end to this question, which is vital for Morocco, within the framework of its sovereignty and territorial integrity".

The current head of Colombian foreign policy reiterated the declarations of her predecessor, expressing Bogotá's "continued support" for "Morocco's commitment to find a political, pragmatic, realistic and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara".

In addition to Ramirez's announcement, which demonstrates the progress of Moroccan diplomacy in Latin America, political, commercial, energy, economic and cultural issues were discussed during the meeting. "We discussed various bilateral and regional issues and found a convergence of views at various levels," Bourita said.

Renewable energy, infrastructure and tourism were also central topics at the meeting. In this regard, Ramirez and Bourita raised the suspension of visas to facilitate "human, tourist, economic, social, commercial and academic exchanges between the two friendly countries", as the joint communiqué pointed out.

Bourita, for her part, said that during her meeting with Ramirez they agreed to share their experiences and practices in relation to the solidarity economy, particularly in rural areas, to support initiatives led by women, as reported by AtlasInfo. "Morocco has forged an experience in this field and the same is true of Colombia," said the head of Moroccan diplomacy.

He also presented the Kingdom as "Colombia's gateway to the African continent". Bourita also announced that he will make a "friendly and working trip" to Colombia next year. On this visit he will be accompanied by "a delegation of businessmen from infrastructure, food, fertilisers, ports and components of the aerospace industry", according to El País.

Bourita and Ramírez have announced that they will develop integrated programmes in the agriculture sector related to irrigation systems, soil mapping and fertilisers. "It is also important to develop our cooperation in renewable energies because Morocco has experienced very significant development in this area," said the Colombian vice-president and minister. In this regard, she took the opportunity to congratulate Rabat for "becoming a relevant country in the international energy agency".

"Today's visit reflects the commitment of our two countries to continue to promote and strengthen their bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, energy, cultural and academic fields, while exploring new opportunities," Bourita said. Regarding the political landscape in Colombia, he assured that the measures taken by President Iván Duque are in the direction of "stability and unity of the country".

The Moroccan minister described Ramírez's visit to Morocco as "fruitful", stressing that it will give new impetus to the Rabat-Bogota axis "to further consolidate the multidimensional partnership that exists between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally and in the framework of South-South cooperation".

Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.