Kigali: Confirming the irreversible dynamics of recognition of the moroccanity of the Sahara, Côte d’Ivoire proceeded, on Tuesday February 18, 2020, to the opening of its General Consulate in Laayoune in the Moroccan Sahara.
This inauguration reflects the excellent relations between Morocco and this brotherly West-African country and the willingness of Côte d’Ivoire to confer to its partnership with Morocco a Pan-African orientation.
Through this opening, Côte d’Ivoire matches its words with deeds as the opening of its General Consulate has undergone a thorough internal legal and institutional process and has been approved by the Council of Ministers as well as through the publication of Presidential Decrees.
When the Union of the Comoros opened its General Consulate in Laayoune on 18 December 2019, a significant number of countries followed its footsteps within a period of two months. Now, with the newly General Consulate of Côte d’Ivoire, no less than 7 countries have their consular representations in the Moroccan Sahara.
The choice made by Côte d’Ivoire to open a General Consulate in Laayoune is not random as it was the first African country to have an Honorary Consulate in the largest city of the Moroccan Sahara, which alone hosts 5 General Consulates.
With the opening of the Ivoirian General Consulate, the policy undertaken by African countries to open their General Consulates in the main cities in the Moroccan Sahara becomes an irreversible reality, in accordance with the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Through this new policy, Morocco puts into practice the doctrine of sovereignty advocated by His Majesty the King of Morocco, entailed by the recognition of the Moroccan Sahara by brotherly and friendly countries through the opening of their diplomatic representations in the two main cities in the Moroccan Sahara namely, Laayoune and Dakhla.
Today, the momentum created on the ground is irreversible. The group of countries which recognize the Moroccan Sahara and open their General Consulates in the Moroccan Sahara is gradually expanding. This reflects a tangible and palpable reality of a broader momentum among the majority of the international community in favor of the Autonomy Initiative, confirmed as the only solution to the artificial dispute around the Moroccan Sahara.
The recognition of the Moroccan Sahara is an exclusive act of sovereignty by States, and it is entirely up to them and only them to decide upon such acts. No third parties are empowered to comment or criticize these acts of sovereignty upon which the International Order is established, on the basis of principles of sovereign equality and respect for the territorial integrity of States.(End)