The Gulf and African countries’ support for the Moroccan Sahara exposes the claims of Algeria and Iran

Reversing the Iranian and Algerian positions supporting the separatist project in the Sahara, the Arab Gulf states, during the work of the substantive session of the 24th UN Committee, expressed in a speech delivered by the Qatari and Bahraini ambassadors on this occasion, their firm support for the Moroccan Sahara, and the importance of the strategic partnership that brings together Rabat and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Emphasizing its commitment to preserving the security, stability and territorial integrity of Morocco.

Likewise, during the work of this UN committee, a group of African countries, led by Gabon, the Comoros, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, expressed their support for Moroccan sovereignty over the southern provinces, and their support for the autonomy plan presented by Rabat to settle this artificial dispute, praising the development efforts and the volume of Moroccan investments in The Sahara, and Morocco’s commitment to the well-being of Moroccan citizens there.

A unified Gulf position

Reacting to the issue, Mohamed Atif, a researcher in international law and international relations, said, “The Gulf states have always supported Moroccan sovereignty over the southern provinces and have expressed this on more than one occasion, whether on the sidelines of meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, or United Nations bodies.” Stressing that “Moroccan-Gulf relations are historical relations built on strong foundations that guarantee their sustainability, and include permanent Gulf support for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.”

In this context, the author mentioned to Hespress the speech of King Mohammed VI before the Moroccan Gulf Summit held in Riyadh in April 2016, where he affirmed that “the Moroccan-Gulf partnership is not the result of circumstantial interests or passing calculations, but rather derives its strength from the sincere belief in the unity of destiny and the congruence of destinations.” Consider common issues.

The same spokesman explained that “Morocco’s relations with the Gulf states have witnessed significant development in recent years, which is translated by the tendency of these countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, to intensify their investments in various parts of the Kingdom, as they see the latter as a gateway to positioning themselves in African markets and enhancing their investments,” noting that “Rabat and the capitals The Gulf states share the same challenges and face the same threats, and this requires them to unify their positions and strengthen their coordination at all levels.”

Atif concluded that “the stability of the Gulf position towards the Moroccan Sahara issue arouses the ire of the Algerian regime, which has tended to strengthen its alliance with Iran, by engaging in its trends aimed at dividing the Arab region and destabilizing its countries by supporting armed movements outside the framework of the state,” pointing out that “ “Algeria’s embrace of Iran strengthens the Gulf-Moroccan alliance, which is considered an impenetrable barrier to Iranian ambitions in the region.”

Conviction of African countries

Mohamed Fadel Al-Khattat, regional coordinator of the International Center for the Defense of Autonomy, said, “The expression of a firm position on the Moroccan Sahara issue by a group of influential African countries in their regional surroundings is an achievement and an inevitable result of these countries’ conviction of the futility of the separatist proposal and the inability of the Polisario to establish An independent state, given a set of subjective and objective factors and reasons.”

Al-Khattat added, in a statement to the electronic newspaper Hespress, that “the experience of separation from the mother state has proven to be a miserable failure in a group of experiments, including in Africa itself, where some newly established countries are still suffering from severe security, economic, and humanitarian crises as a result of their failure to build the state, and this What these countries, which began to get rid of separatist theses, are aware of in exchange for their move to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.”

The same spokesman stated that “the Moroccan Sahrawis themselves are convinced of this proposal and are not convinced of the idea of ​​secession. Even if a referendum is held, this dispute will be resolved in favor of the Kingdom of Morocco, because the Sahrawi voices in favor of remaining under the umbrella of Morocco are much greater than the voices calling for secession,” adding that “ The Polisario Front has failed, for decades since its founding, to establish a camp under acceptable humanitarian conditions, let alone form an independent state.

The declarant stressed to Hespress that “Morocco’s bet today is an external bet and not an internal bet at all, because matters have been decided in favor of the Kingdom historically and realistically,” noting that “the separatist proposal has lost its appeal in the African arena in the face of the crises the latter is suffering from, the confrontation of which requires strengthening the state and its institutions at a time when The leaders of the Front are still investing in the suffering of the Sahrawis in the service of external agendas with known goals and directions.”