The Guatemalan Deputy Foreign Minister reaffirmed in Rabat that the Moroccan initiative is the "only possible solution" to the Saharawi dispute

Guatemala reafirma su apoyo a la propuesta de Marruecos sobre el Sáhara Occidental

photo_camera PHOTO/TWITTER/MAROC DIPLOMATIE/@MarocDiplomatie - Ava Arévalo and Nasser Bourita

The Guatemalan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ava Atzum Arévalo, travelled to Rabat where she reaffirmed her country's position of supporting Morocco's sovereignty formula over Western Sahara as the "only possible solution" to the Saharawi conflict.

"We fully support Morocco and its autonomy initiative in the Sahara, which we consider the only solution to this dispute", Ava Atzum Arevalo told the media after meeting with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.

The Guatemalan Deputy Foreign Minister was present in the Moroccan capital in preparation for the next visit of the Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario Búcaro Flores, scheduled for a date yet to be determined. 

ava-arevalo-nasser-bourita-guatemala-marruecos-sahara-occidental

Guatemala already announced on 22 September its decision to open a consulate in Dakhla, in the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco, giving its positive vote to the Moroccan proposal on Western Sahara. The Central American country thus joined almost thirty other nations that have taken the same step in backing Moroccan sovereignty over the former Spanish colony. 

The North African country advocates a broad autonomy initiative for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty as the most feasible option for resolving the Sahrawi conflict that has lasted almost five decades. Guatemala is in favour of this political line, something that became clear after the meeting between Nasser Bourita and Mario Búcaro Flores on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly. 

"Guatemala has reiterated its clear position on the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, considering that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the solution to this discrepancy and announces the decision to open a consulate in the city of Dakhla to take advantage of its economic potential and its openness to the rest of the African continent", according to a joint official statement issued after the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

marruecos-guatemala-sahara-occidental-consulado-dajla

"The concepts of sovereignty, peace and territorial integrity are very important to us. We support Morocco's position on this issue and we will continue to support Morocco forever", said the head of the Central American country's diplomacy in statements made to the press and echoed by media outlets such as Atlas Info.

The Alawi kingdom thus continues to gain support for its proposal for broad autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty as the most "serious and credible" option for resolving the Saharawi conflict, as other very important countries such as Germany and Spain have recognised. This proposal received a major boost in December 2020 when Donald Trump's US administration recognised the Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara in exchange for the Kingdom establishing strong diplomatic ties with Israel, following the example of the Abraham Accords, sealed in September 2020 under US auspices, whereby several Arab nations such as the Emirates and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with the Israeli state with the aim of pacifying the Middle East and developing the region socially and economically. This initiative also serves to confront threats from countries identified as destabilising, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

On the other hand, the formula of holding a referendum on Sahrawi independence proposed by the Polisario Front with the support of Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in the Maghreb, has less notable support in the international arena. 

America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.

More in Politics