Morocco, Cuba Restore Diplomatic Ties after 37 Years of Severance

Cuba flag with Morocco flag, 3D rendering

Morocco and Cuba have ushered a new era by restoring their diplomatic ties and turning the page of 37 years of severance on the backdrop of Havana’s alignment on the Polisario separatist thesis.

The re-establishment of diplomatic ties was announced following a meeting between the heads of the permanent missions of the two countries at the UN headquarters in New York, Cuba’s Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo and Morocco’s Omar Hilale.

The agreement to restore diplomatic relations comes days after a private visit by King Mohammed VI to Cuba where he held private talks with senior Cuban officials to pave the way for a normalization of relations between the two countries.

“Both governments proceeded to re-establish these relations guided by the mutual will to develop friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries in the political, economic, cultural and other fields,” said the Cuban government’s Prensa Latina news agency.

The normalization of ties with Cuba is once again mirroring the efficiency of Royal diplomacy. After regaining its legitimate place at the African Union with an outspoken support from a sweeping majority of member states, Morocco is emerging as a continental power to be reckoned with. Buoyed by a political, economic and social development model, the kingdom is set to boost its standing as a credible partner in a region beset by turmoil and authoritarianism.

Although Cuba has long been an ardent adversary of Morocco’s territorial integrity through its generous military and diplomatic support to the Polisario militias, the re-establishment of diplomatic ties with Rabat will make Morocco’s perspective heard and will deal a blow to the Polisario separatist rhetoric in Latin America.

Morocco and Cuba severed diplomatic relations in 1980 following Fidel Castro’s official recognition of the Algerian-sponsored separatist entity, SADR.