British Government confirms legality of commercial activities in the Moroccan Sahara

The British government has deemed any commercial activity in the Moroccan Sahara “legal,” thus thwarting the aims of Polisario supporters in the House of Commons, the UK parliament.

Responding to a written question from Labor MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle about the possibility of “creating a United Nations Council for the natural resources of Western Sahara,” David Rutley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, dismissed this proposal, thus supporting the legality of commercial activities in the Moroccan Sahara, reported Le360 news outlet.

“We do not consider commercial activity to be illegal in Western Sahara,” assured the British official, noting that “the UK continues to support the efforts of the United Nations and the work of Staffan de Mistura as the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and we continue to encourage constructive engagement in the political process.”

In addition to disavowing the proponents of the separatist entity’s theses, the response of the British government perfectly aligns with the irrevocable rejection in 2023 by the Court of Appeal of London of a Polisario complaint against the Morocco-UK Association Agreement.

This appeal had been brought by Polisario proxies in the UK, on the grounds that the Association Agreement had been concluded “without the consent of the Sahrawi people.” In response, the judge concluded that the reasons put forward by Polisario representatives had no real chance of success and that the appeal itself would be of no use, recalled the news website.

Morocco-UK trade exchanges are thriving and a large delegation of British investors visited Dakhla in July 2023 to explore investment opportunities in the region. Among the projects studied was that of the Oblin group for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia. The project has the potential to create around 5,000 jobs.