DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP) – Trawlers flock to the busy port of Dakhla in Western Sahara, where fish scales shine in workers’ arms as they roll up their nets and buyers bid in a large auction warehouse. Nearby, turquoise waters bathe almost empty Atlantic beaches and customers drink tea at sidewalk cafes.
The United States plans to place its brand in this picturesque setting.
The US ambassador to Morocco, David T. Fischer, attended a ceremony on Sunday in Dakhla, the first formal step towards opening a consulate, marking a turning point for disputed and strictly policed territory in North Africa.
The US measure recognizes Morocco’s authority over the land – in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel.
Fischer was accompanied by the State Department’s top official for the region, David Schenker. Both diplomats wore white Moroccan tunics.
“Our trip to Dakhla today is another milestone in more than 200 years of friendship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America,” he said, citing the United States Embassy on Morocco’s Twitter.
While this shift in US foreign policy has frustrated indigenous Sahrawis who have been seeking independence from Western Sahara for decades, others see new trade and tourism opportunities that will provide a welcome boost to the region and sunny coastal cities like Dakhla.
Addressing the meeting, the US ambassador said that opening a consulate is an advantage for the United States, allowing him “to take further advantage of Morocco’s strategic positioning as a center of trade in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. ”. Investment and development projects will yield profits for the region, he added.
A portrait of the Moroccan king Mohammed VI, waving behind his sunglasses, hangs in the battleground arcade that greets people arriving in Dakhla. The king’s face is juxtaposed on a map that includes Western Sahara as an integral part of Morocco.
Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, which sparked a 16-year war and then 30 years of diplomatic and military standoff between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an organization that seeks independence from Western Sahara that is based and supported by Algeria. The long territorial dispute limited Western Sahara’s links with the outside world.
Khatat Yanja, head of the Dakhla regional council, hopes that the arrival of the United States will open his city to new markets and persuade more tourists to enjoy its breathtaking beaches, local products and sunsets. He expressed hope for US investments in tourism, renewable energy, agriculture and especially fishing.
“We appreciate that gesture,” said Yanja of the future consulate. “It will open a whole new chapter when it comes to investing in the region, by hiring people and creating more resources. It will also open more doors for international trade. “
The main fishing port is the salvation of the local economy, employing 70% of Dakhla’s workforce. Thousands of boats bring 500,000 tons of fish a year, for exports worth 2.2 billion dirhams (US $ 249 million) annually, according to the port director, Bintaleb Elhassan.
Under flocks of seagulls, fishermen transport sardines and mackerel to warehouses where the fish is auctioned in well-aligned trays. At nearby processing plants, rows of women, including migrants from across Africa, clean and separate the fish.
Morocco heavily police the region. On a recent visit to Dakhla, the authorities closely monitored an Associated Press reporter in the way that visitors and residents usually do.
US Deputy Secretary of State David Schenker visited Dakhla and the largest city in Western Sahara, Laayoune, on Saturday. He and Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, are due to open a temporary diplomatic post on Sunday.
While the consulate is not expected to open for another six to 12 months, Schenker’s trip is a way for the U.S. to consolidate its commitment to Western Sahara before President Donald Trump leaves office.
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, helped broker a normalization agreement between Morocco and Israel announced last month, part of a series of historic deals which won in return great favors from Washington to the Arab countries.
Trump said the Western Sahara consulate’s goal would be to “promote economic and commercial opportunities in the region,” which is roughly the size of Colorado and is believed to have considerable offshore deposits of oil and mineral resources.
Polisario Front representative at the United Nations, Sidi Omar, called on Saturday for the new administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to reverse Trump’s decision.
“The US cannot support the role of the UN in resolving the conflict in Western Sahara and endorse Moroccan sovereignty,” tweeted Omar.
The economy of Western Sahara is managed by Morocco, which built most of the territory’s infrastructure and encouraged Moroccans to settle there. But the United Nations and most world governments do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the land, limiting Morocco’s ability to export its resources and complicating trade agreements.
For many people in Dakhla, at least those who are allowed to speak to visiting journalists, local concerns seem to outweigh geopolitics. Residents go to work, sell clementines, buy jewelry, enjoy local specialties in sidewalk cafes and play with their dogs on quiet beaches.
The United States’ recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco has drawn criticism from the UN and America’s allies. African observers said it could destabilize the entire region, which is already fighting Islamic insurgencies and trafficking in migrants.
The action particularly angered Saharawis, who want a referendum on the future of the territory, and neighboring Algeria, which welcomes Saharawi refugees and supports Polisario. Schenker also visited Algeria in recent days.
The United States will join a small but growing number of countries with consulates in the territory, the most recent representing Gambia.
“Gambia feels a sense of gratitude for Morocco’s support, including the construction of the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in The Gambia. In addition, Morocco continues to provide scholarships for students from The Gambia, ”Consul General Ousmane Badjie told the AP in his office, where a portrait of the Moroccan king is also hanging.
Saharawi activists staged protests in several Spanish and French cities against US change, but Washington did not directly address its concerns when the State Department formally notified Congress on December 24 of its plans to open a consulate.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said only that the United States “will continue to support political negotiations to resolve issues between Morocco and Polisario within the framework of Morocco’s autonomy plan”.
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Matthew Lee in Washington and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.