Oman recognises Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara

As part of an official visit to Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman, represented by its Foreign Minister, Badr Bin Hamad Ben Hamoud Al Busaidi, has recognised the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara proposed in 2007 by Mohammed VI, King of Morocco. With this announcement, Oman joins the more than 100 countries that have recognised the Moroccan Plan, including the United States, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Busaidi met with his Moroccan counterpart, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, in the context of the seventh joint commission between Morocco and Oman. 

In a joint statement, the Sultanate praised Morocco's pioneering role in establishing peace and security in the Western Sahara region, and as a result the Sultanate announced that it is only a matter of time before the inauguration of the consulate in the cities of Dakhla and Laayoune is announced. Oman would join the United Arab Emirates, the Comoros and Jordan, which already have consulates there. 

Finally, Busaidi recognised Rabat's efforts to maintain cultural identity through the efforts made by Mohammed VI in the city of Jerusalem. 

However, during the meeting, both ministers signed several agreements and memoranda for the next five years. 

The first of these would be related to the Ministry of Transport of both countries so that professionals from both countries can be recognised and eligible to work in accordance with the regulations established by the International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping established in 1978.  

Secondly, greater collaboration was agreed on renewable energies, a sector in which Morocco is a pioneer on the continent and whose objective is to move away from the use of oil and gas in favour of green energies until they account for 52% of the total supply that the country needs. Likewise, the agreement involves the Moroccan mining sector, which is the main supplier of phosphates, with the Omani sector, the main supplier of aluminium on the continent. 

With their sights set on the 2030 World Cup, Morocco and Oman have also established agreements on how sport and education can complement each other. To this end, both countries will hold meetings between the Moroccan Ministry of Education and Sport and the Omani Ministry of Sports and Culture. Another aspect discussed at the meeting was the digitalisation and exchange of technical knowledge.

Finally, both diplomatic corps agreed to increase cooperation and collaboration in the field of tourism, since both Morocco and Oman are two of the countries where the sector is growing the most within the African continent.

However, for Algeria, which had opted to strengthen its relationship with the Sultanate of Oman through high-level visits, this change is seen as a weakening of one of the pillars of its equilibrium in the Gulf and an unexpected blow from someone the government of Abdelmadjid Tebboune considered a ‘guaranteed ally’.

After several meetings between the Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, and his Omani counterparts, and even after official visits by the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Oman's decision to recognise the Moroccan Sahara is not understood within the Algerian Executive.