The Andean Parliament reinforces international support for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara
The president of the Andean Parliament, Gustavo Pacheco Villar, travelled to Rabat to meet with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, to reaffirm the support of the Andean Community - made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile - for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in accordance with the Moroccan Autonomy Plan proposed by the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, in 2007. This recognition marks a new international triumph for the North African nation.
During the meeting, both diplomats emphasised the need to strengthen ties between Latin America and Morocco in terms of regional integration and international stability. In addition, Bourita emphasised that the Andean Community's endorsement of this position reflects the strong bilateral relations between the two economic blocs.
In addition to the minister, other Moroccan diplomats belonging to the Moroccan House of Councillors, present at the meetings, pointed out that the Sahara conflict is an attempt at social fragmentation by the Polisario Front based on ‘groundless lies’.
Along the same lines, Pacheco Villar pointed out that Morocco is a key country for Latin economies due to its geostrategic position and link between Europe and Africa. He also mentioned the role of the African country with regard to international law and Morocco's respect for regional integration. In turn, different parliamentarians who were part of the institutional trip to Rabat reaffirmed Villar's words.
The president of the Andean Parliament, together with the vice-president, Óscar Darío Pérez, expressed their admiration for Morocco's progress in infrastructure, energy transition and economic development. This progress has brought the North African country closer and positioned it as a priority partner of the European Union and the United States.
In addition, Darío Pérez took the opportunity to convey to the Moroccan authorities the desire of the Andean Community to strengthen bilateral commercial, industrial and cultural ties.
However, this recognition by the Andean Community is part of a global trend of reducing the recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) by more than 50 countries that, for some time now, have withdrawn their support for the forces of the Polisario Front, which are sustained thanks to the support of Algeria.
This position differs from that of the Polisario Front, a group that seeks independence and wants a referendum for the Saharawi people. However, this is complicated to carry out due to issues such as the census, something that several analysts have mentioned. Furthermore, the Polisario Front has less international support, with the exception of Algeria, which is a major political opponent of Morocco in the Maghreb region.
The Andean Community thus joins more than 100 countries that have already shown their support for Morocco in this dispute, including major powers such as the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Spain itself.
