Sahara: Turkey renews its support for Morocco’s territorial integrity
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu on Thursday renewed his country’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
“We fully support the territorial integrity of our sisterly country, the Kingdom of Morocco,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu in a press briefing after a long meeting with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita.
The Turkish official insisted that Turkey’s stand on the Moroccan sahara “remains unchanged”.
He deplored the “misunderstanding” about a video broadcast lately by the Turkish TV channel TRT about the Sahrawi separatist Aminatou Haidar, saying the mistake has been corrected. He insisted that the position of Turkey and its government is “very clear” regarding the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.
“We do not support any separatist group or agenda, and any problem should be of course resolved peacefully. It is our shared position and we will continue to support not only the territorial integrity of our sisterly country, the Kingdom of Morocco, but also its stability and security for this is a very important country for us, for the Muslim world and for this part of the world,” he said.
Regarding the bilateral free trade agreement and Morocco’s call on Turkey to find a solution to the trade deficit it suffers, Mevlüt Cavusoglu expressed his country’s willingness “to examine ways to redress the trade balance with the Kingdom.
He announced in this connection that a Turkish trade delegation would be visiting Rabat shortly to examine this issue.
Echoing him, Nasser Bourita said the meeting examined how to overcome some of the particular trade barriers that create problems in the two countries’ partnership.
He said talks also focused on regional topics of common interest” and this in the framework of consultation and joint evaluation of developments in North Africa.
The Turkish official attended Thursday in Rabat the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
