Ghana suspends all relations with Polisario Front

In an official statement, the Republic of Ghana terminated diplomatic relations with the Polisario Front 46 years after recognising the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1979.  

The news is a further blow to the separatist group's diplomacy. The decision was taken, according to Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in support of Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara, which the Alawi country formalised in 2007.  

‘The Republic of Ghana decided to immediately inform, through diplomatic channels, the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, the African Union and the United Nations of this position,’ reads the official statement that the Ghanaian authorities notified to their Moroccan counterparts.  

With this decision, Ghana joins the list of 46 countries (13 of them African) that have severed all ties with SADR since 2000. The last of these was Panama. Sharing a border with Burkina Faso, one of the most terrorist active countries in the Sahel, has helped in the decision to stop supporting the Polisario Front.

In the same communication, Ghana expressed its support for the North African nation's ‘good faith efforts’ to find a solution to the Sahara issue that is acceptable to all parties.  

The decision coincides with the inauguration of the country's new president, John Dramani Mahama. This new diplomatic shift, which comes amidst the strengthening of bilateral relations between Morocco and Ghana, particularly in trade and investment, will mark a turning point between the two states.