(4 minutes read
· US State Secretary Antony Blinken hosted Moroccan FM Bourita yesterday at the State Department and discussed a wide range of issues including the sensitive issue of Western Sahara.
· Blinken emphasized the importance of US-Moroccan relations and the need for building on that
· The Biden administration had supported the Israel –Morocco rapprochement announced in December by the Trump Administration.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken hosted Moroccan FM Bourita yesterday at the State Department and discussed a wide range of issues including the sensitive issue of Western Sahara.
Blinken emphasized the importance of US-Moroccan relations and the need for building on that. The Biden administration had supported the Israel –Morocco rapprochement announced in December by the Trump Administration. This led to the inauguration of direct flight between the two countries. It may be noted that there are a good number of Jews in Morocco who regularly visit their relatives in Israel. This has also led to improved trade relations between the two countries.
Israel’s official airlines El Al inaugurated a direct flight between Tel Aviv and Marrakesh. Both foreign ministries have yet to issue a detailed statement on the Western Sahara issue. The two countries are expected to come out with a statement making their positions clear on the issue very soon.
The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara. The UN led efforts are progressing to find a solution to the vexatious issues. Recently, the UN secretary general has appointed. Staffan de Mistura of Italy as his Personal Envoy to Western Sahara. He succeeded Horst Köhler of Germany, who completed his assignment on 22 May 2019. Mistura is working with all relevant interlocutors, including the parties, neighboring countries and other stakeholders, guided by Security Council resolution 2548 (2020) and other relevant resolutions.
The Moroccan foreign minister reiterated the long standing relations his country has with the US and underlined the need for taking the relations to further heights. Analysts are of the opinion that the meeting at best would help Morocco exchanging its views on both issues of Western Sahara and the dynamics of furthering relations with Israel. There is heavy resistance from the Arab world for Morocco following an appeasement policy with Israel.
