Morocco closes 2024 reaffirming its sovereignty over Western Sahara
17 years have passed since Morocco presented the Western Sahara Autonomy Plan to the UN. Since then, dozens of countries have shown their support for the Rabat government and King Mohammed VI. Some of them world-class, such as the United States, and more recently, Spain, Germany and France. In particular, the US stated that the Moroccan proposal is the ‘most serious and credible approach to conflict resolution’.
Morocco has consolidated its sovereignty over Western Sahara. By opening consulates in the region and developing infrastructure, has strengthened its diplomatic and economic posture.
A historic turning point
The last decade has seen a rapid increase in international recognition of Morocco's approach to the conflict in the region. Morocco has thus managed to join the group of countries that have explicitly recognised the Moroccan Sahara, and others that have increased their support for this approach by opening diplomatic offices in the Moroccan Sahara.
The first country to open a consulate in the Moroccan Sahara was the Comoros in 2019, and the United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf country to open a consulate in Laayoune, in 2020. As of August, the number of consulates reached 29, located in Laayoune and Dakhla, with 12 and 17 consulates, respectively, with the addition of the Consulate General of the Republic of Chad in the city of Dakhla in the Moroccan Sahara.
After the United States, France was the second permanent member of the Security Council to support the Moroccan Sahara, amid confirmation that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the most effective solution to the conflict.
What does this support mean?
France's recognition represents a key ‘twist’ in the process, as it is a permanent member of the Security Council and thus has veto power, like the US and the other permanent members.
The French consideration could motivate other European countries to recognise the Moroccan Sahara, due to the strong relations it maintains with several countries, in many international blocs such as the Francophile group or the European Union, among others.
In the first speech, Mohammed VI emphasised that ‘the right is supreme and insurmountable, and just causes always win’, referring to the growing international support for the Moroccan Sahara and the Moroccan proposal to manage the conflict in the region. In the second, on the 49th anniversary of the Green March, the Moroccan king sent clear and firm messages to two parties: ‘assume your responsibility and clarify the great difference between the real and legitimate world, which Morocco represents in its desert, and a frozen world detached from reality and its events’.
This speech was addressed to the International Community, either to the United Nations with the need to assume its responsibility for the persistence of this conflict, or to some countries that stood out for supporting the separatist idea instead of focusing on solving their internal problems. This speech, and the occasion on which it was delivered, conveyed to the King that Morocco would not cede a single inch of its territory, or even consider negotiating it.
Economic impact
Investments in the development of the southern region, such as the port of Dakhla and the Tiznit-Dajla highway, which improve connectivity and promote sustainable development, are just some of the measures the government has taken to boost the region's economy. Programmes in agriculture, fisheries and renewable energy are where the national administration has put the focus to reinforce the Sahara's economic integration with the rest of Morocco.
With a significant improvement in basic health, education and housing services for the local population, the southernmost regions of the country reach the average income and expenditure levels of the rest of the provinces. In addition, the geographical position of the region, and the country, are highly favourable for investment and development with Europe on the other side of the country's coasts.