The movement comes after King Mohammed VI on Saturday urged “certain partners” to “clarify” their position on the former Spanish colony
Germany gave its support this Thursday to the Moroccan initiative for autonomy over Western Sahara, describing it as a “good basis” to resolve the regional conflict and thus closing a long diplomatic crisis with Morocco.
“Germany considers the autonomy plan presented in 2007 as a serious and credible effort by Morocco and as a good basis for a solution accepted by both parties,” said a joint statement from the two countries published after the chief’s first visit to Rabat. of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock.
The German minister met with her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, and both welcomed the resumption of bilateral cooperation. Germany is one of the main economic and commercial partners of Morocco. Rabat suspended its contact with the German embassy in the country in March 2021, due to “profound misunderstandings” with Berlin. Among the sticking points was the German position on Western Sahara. Berlin criticized Washington’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory in December 2020.
The diplomatic disagreement between Germany and Morocco began to calm down in December, given the “positive” disposition of the new German government in this matter. The King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, urged “certain partners” on Saturday to “clarify” his position and to “unequivocally” support the Moroccan autonomy initiative.
Macron’s tour
Baerbock’s trip coincides with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival. The French president attends with a large institutional and business representation with the energy crisis as a backdrop.
Macron also seeks to restore good relations with Algeria after tension between the two countries has risen in the last year due to issues related to historical memory and the Algerian War of Independence.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebune, this Thursday in Algiers /
For Macron, the “essential objective” of the trip is to “build a future” in common, which also means “facing the past head-on, with great humility and a desire for truth, memory and history.”
To this end, he has announced the creation of a mixed commission of historians who will examine the archives and shed light on the most conflictive period between France and Algeria, the one that goes from the beginning of colonization to the end of the war. They will work, according to Macron, “without taboos.”
The Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebune, described the first results of this visit, which will last three days, as “encouraging”, alluding to the creation of intergovernmental commissions and the foreseeable “intensification” of high-level cross-visits.
#Germany #supports #Moroccan #autonomy #plan #Western #Sahara