Colombia Announces Change of Position, Recognizes Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Sahara

Colombia has announced the change of its position on the Sahara issue and affirmed its recognition of the Kingdom of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Southern Provinces.

According to a statement by Morocco’s foreign ministry, this new position was announced on Friday during the meeting held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, and the Vice-President of the Republic of Colombia, Mr. José Manuel Restrepo, attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Omar Bula Escobar.

“On this occasion, Mr Bula Escobar affirmed that Colombia “recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara,” enshrining a new orientation for Colombia’s position on this issue.

“For his part, Mr Restrepo underlined that this announcement marks ‘a new beginning’ for ties between Colombia and Morocco, adding that the Kingdom is “Colombia’s first ally in Africa,”the statement said.

It added that, “In this respect, he expressed his country’s determination to establish a strategic partnership with Morocco.”

Meanwhile, Mr Bourita described Colombia’s decision to withdraw its recognition of the pseudo ‘sadr’ and recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara as “historic,” stressing that it could give “great momentum” to bilateral ties.

He pointed out that Morocco and Colombia could represent economic platforms for each other by taking advantage of their respective positions in Africa and in Latin America.

Mr Bourita affirmed that his presence in Cali, on the Very High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to represent the Sovereign in the investiture ceremony of new President Abelardo de la Espriella, embodies the Kingdom’s determination to support this new momentum and elevate relations between Morocco and Colombia to a higher level.

This decision has added Colombia to a growing number of countries that are withdrawing recognition of the pseudo ‘sard’, and instead support the UN-led political process.

Earlier in the year, Bolivia, Mali and Honduras also announced the suspension of their recognition of the so- called ‘sard’. In addition, a number of countries have recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Sahara and supported the country’s Autonomy Plan as a credible and realistic solution to the dispute.