Morocco's consular diplomacy seeks Ghana's support for its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara
The recent change of government in Ghana, with the inauguration of the new president, John Dramani Mahama, will have important implications for the country's foreign policy, especially in terms of its diplomatic relations with other African countries and, in particular, with Morocco.
- Ghana's democratic transition
- Support for Morocco's Western Sahara plan
- A triumph for Moroccan diplomacy
- Western Sahara as a bridge
Ghana's democratic transition
Ghana's influence in Africa is by no means negligible. It is the second largest economy in the Economic Community of West African States after Nigeria. It is clear that the political change in the country is an event that will have important geopolitical repercussions.
Moreover, the fact that a peaceful transition has taken place between the previous government of former President Nana Akufo-Addo and the new one, headed by the former opposition leader, gives it even greater credibility and moral authority in a continent where, unfortunately, peaceful political transitions are the exception.
As the new President Mahama noted in his inauguration speech, Ghana is on the verge of multiple political, economic and social transformations, and is considered a democratic exception in the West African region because of the peaceful transfer of power in its political system, unlike many neighbouring African countries that have suffered and are suffering from coups d'état and challenges to constitutionalism.
Support for Morocco's Western Sahara plan
One of the first changes brought about by the new Ghanaian administration has been a shift in the stance on Western Saharan sovereignty, highlighted by the new President John Dramani Mahama from the moment he took office: Ghana has clearly backed Morocco in this conflict and has endorsed its autonomy proposal for the Sahara as the only and definitive solution.
This decision of the new government was duly communicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana to both the Moroccan government, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, as well as to the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and the United Nations in New York.
This support also implies the withdrawal of recognition of the Polisario Front and its supporters by the Republic of Ghana, which had been the strategy of the Ghanaian government under former President Nana Akufo.
It should be recalled that just a few months ago, former President Akufo paid an official visit to the Republic of South Africa, which concluded with an official statement by the governments of Ghana and South Africa expressing their support for the Polisario Front.
The new Ghanaian government's decision on the sovereignty of Western Sahara and the withdrawal of support for the Polisario Front is of enormous significance, as the Republic of Ghana is historically one of the most influential countries in the geopolitical situation in West Africa and has a very active and influential presence in various regional and international organisations, such as the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The activity of Moroccan diplomacy in Accra, under the leadership of the Moroccan ambassador to Ghana, Iman Wadil, has had much to do with this change of position . He is working to strengthen bilateral relations and open new paths for cooperation and integration between the two countries, which aspire to raise them to the level of a strategic partnership in the coming months.
A triumph for Moroccan diplomacy
The new Ghanaian government's rapprochement with Morocco's plan on Western Saharan sovereignty represents, from the Moroccan point of view, an indisputable triumph for its foreign policy, which is based on consular diplomacy.
If anything has become clear in recent years, it is that Morocco's international and diplomatic relations with other countries hinge on their stance on the sovereignty issue of Western Sahara.
The rapprochement between Spain and, more recently, France, following Macron's visit to Morocco last October, can be explained precisely in these terms. Therefore, the fact that such an influential country on the African continent as Ghana has radically changed its position on Western Sahara is very relevant for Moroccan diplomacy, due to the knock-on effect it may represent: other African countries are expected to imitate the example of the new government in Mahama in the near future.
Indeed, one of the bases of Moroccan foreign policy, in line with the guidelines set by King Mohammed VI himself, is a solid and effective diplomatic doctrine integrated into multiple channels, in which the African dimension is a fundamental path.
In this sense, Morocco considers it essential to open up to the African continent and strengthen development cooperation, as well as deepening its political, economic and cultural ties with various African countries, with the aim of achieving sustainable development and improving regional stability.
Western Sahara as a bridge
Moroccan diplomacy aims to transform Western Sahara into a bridge of civilisation between African countries by implementing important projects and infrastructure that will change the face of the region.
The most prominent projects are the Atlantic-Africa gas pipeline and the royal initiative to improve the Sahel countries' access to the Atlantic Ocean, both of which are intended to bring about diplomatic progress in the traditional separatist strongholds of West Africa, one of the areas of the continent where such movements are most active.
For this pan-African policy to succeed, Moroccan diplomacy has had to achieve the international isolation of the Polisario Front and its main promoter, Algeria, by deactivating the separatist propaganda hotspots operating in Ghana itself and in countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda, Angola and the Republic of South Africa.
The ultimate goal is to make the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean an economic zone of global importance, to overcome the model of colonial relations and to propose a new model of trade relations on both the North-South and South-South axes.
