Sahara: Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire reiterate constant position on Morocco’s territorial integrity & sovereignty
Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire have reiterated their constant position on Morocco’s territorial integrity and support to its sovereignty over its entire territory, including the Sahara region.
The stand was reiterated in separate statements by the Liberian and Ivorian Foreign Ministers Sara Beysolow Nyanti and Léon Kacou Adom following the holding of the Morocco-Liberia and Morocco-Côte d’Ivoire Joint Cooperation Commissions Friday in the Saharan city of Laayoune.
Both Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the constant position of their respective countries in favor of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Morocco over its entire territory, including the Sahara region.
They also expressed their countries’ support for the autonomy plan put forward by Morocco, as the only credible and realistic solution for resolving this regional dispute, and praised the efforts of the United Nations as the exclusive framework to achieve a realistic, practical, and lasting solution to the Sahara dispute.
The Liberian and Ivorian officials seized the opportunity to pay tribute to King Mohammed VI for his vision of peace, stability and socio-economic development in Africa.
They also hailed the momentum generated by the Atlantic African States Process, which aims to make the Atlantic African space an area of co-emergence and stability, as well as a geostrategic framework that harbors major opportunities for synergy and cooperation between its member countries in strategic areas such as environment, food safety, health, energy, logistical interconnection, pooling of resources and exchange of experience.
They underlined that the Royal Atlantic Initiative will not only strengthen relations between Atlantic African states but will also make of this space a geostrategic framework for intra-African cooperation and the promotion of stability and prosperity.
They also lauded the opportunity provided by the Royal Initiative to enable Sahel States have access to the Atlantic Ocean, contributing to the socio-economic development of the region and ensuring stability and prosperity in Africa.
The support of Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire to Morocco’s territorial integrity was materialized by the opening in 2020 of a Liberian General Consulate in Dakhla and a Consulate General of Côte d’Ivoire in Laâyoune.
The Morocco-Liberia Joint Cooperation Commission highlighted by the signing of several legal instruments in the fields of industry, trade cooperation, mining exploration and research, justice and the rule of law, integrated water resource management, social development, crafts and social and solidarity economy, tourism, youth, healthcare professional training, education, vocational training, and the granting of scholarships, internships, and expertise sharing.
