The United States began on Sunday the “process of establishing” a consulate in contested Western Sahara, after Washington recognized Morocco’s sovereignty in exchange for Rabat to normalize ties with Israel.
US Ambassador David Fischer visited the port of Dakhla, 1,440 kilometers (895 miles) southwest of Rabat, in the southern tip of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco, to mark the beginning of work in a diplomatic office.
“It is an honor for me to visit this incredibly beautiful and critically important region of Morocco, and to begin the process of establishing a U.S. diplomatic presence here,” said Fischer, according to the U.S. Embassy.
Western Sahara is a disputed and divided ex-Spanish colony, mainly under the control of Morocco, where tensions with the pro-independence Polisario Front have increased since the 1970s.
Last year, Morocco joined the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to agree to normalize ties with Israel under US-mediated agreements.
In return, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, fulfilled a Moroccan goal of decades by supporting his contested sovereignty over the barren but phosphate-rich region, which is close to the main fishing zones of the Atlantic.
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said on Sunday that “Morocco feels stronger in its legitimate struggle for its territorial integrity … with the support of its friends”.
The Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, waged a war for independence from 1975 to 1991 and controls about one fifth of the territory of the desert.
About 20 countries, mainly Africans and Arabs, have already opened diplomatic offices in the area controlled by Morocco, but Polisario considers such measures a violation of international law.
Bachir Mustapha Sayed, representative of the Polisario Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, described the American delegation’s visit as a “propaganda tourist trip” and recalled that the “Trump administration will be over in less than two weeks” in an interview with the Algerian news agency APS.
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UN peacekeepers in Western Sahara are mandated to organize a referendum on self-determination for the region and, despite Washington’s action, the UN insists its position is “unchanged”.
In November, Polisario announced that it considered the 1991 ceasefire to be null and void after Morocco sent troops to a buffer zone patrolled by the UN to reopen an important road.
Bourita said on Sunday that Morocco continues to “support the ceasefire, but will react to any provocation”, adding that Rabat “will support the UN process … to find a solution to this long-standing dispute”.
Fischer, who called Sunday’s visit “another historic milestone in more than 200 years of friendship” between Morocco and the United States, was accompanied by Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker.
The pair wore flowing white embroidered tunics that are traditionally worn in the territory over their suits.
In December, the US State Department opened a “virtual” diplomatic post in Western Sahara, before finding “an appropriate place” to build a consulate.
The building is expected to be ready in the coming months, added Fischer.
Last month, Fischer said that a consulate would allow Washington to “take further advantage of Morocco’s strategic position as a center of trade in Africa, Europe and the Middle East”.
The Morocco-Israel agreement to normalize ties must involve significant investments by the United States International Finance Corporation for Development, and Morocco hopes that Dakhla can become an important regional port.
Last month, the DFC signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $ 3 billion over the next four years in Morocco or with Moroccan partners working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
He also pledged an initiative to “catalyze $ 1 billion in investments in projects that promote the economic empowerment of women in the Middle East and North Africa”.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who will replace Trump on January 20, did not comment publicly on Western Sahara.
sof / pjm / sw