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Morocco’s strategy in defending its legitimate rights over its southern provinces has evolved from a security angle to a focus on economic development and investment opportunities, says World Politics Review, an American academic quarterly journal.
The Sahara issue has seen a significant diplomatic shift since 2020, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced American recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its entire Saharan territory. Since then, Spain, France, the U.K. and Germany have endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy plan, joining over 100 other United Nations member states that have already done so, says the WPR analysis.
Rabat made the most of the American backing by intensifying diplomatic offensive for support to counter the threat of instability in the region posed by the Polisario militia, supported by Algeria, Iran and proxies, says the U.S. specialized magazine.
But since 2020, Rabat has reframed its case for sovereignty over Sahara as one based on economic development, emphasizing its commitment to building major infrastructure that is attracting further foreign investment and global trade to the region, underlines WPR, noting that
this strategic shift has played a pivotal role in Morocco’s autonomy campaign.
The WPR analysts cited in this regard the Dakhla Atlantic Port project and other infrastructure initiatives reinforcing Morocco’s sovereignty and projecting a vision of stability, connectivity, and economic integration.
The $1.2 billion Dakhla Atlantic Port project is the centrepiece of Morocco’s plan to turn the Sahara into a strategic regional gateway linking West Africa to global markets.
With construction of the port at Dhakla halfway done, Rabat aims to start shipping agricultural goods, seafood, phosphates and rare earth minerals to Europe and Latin America in early 2029, says the report of WPR.
Morocco is also busy building a $1 billion highway project to connect Dakhla with Tangier and is in talks with Sahel countries (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) on establishing links to the port, says the U.S academic magazine, noting that this economic integration strategy is already bearing diplomatic fruit.
The U.K.’s endorsement of Morocco’s autonomy plan for Sahara in June wasn’t just a diplomatic shift but part of an economic strategy to deepen trade ties with and expand markets for British companies.
Similarly, when France supported the autonomy plan offered by Morocco for the Sahara under its sovereignty, President Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI lauding the socioeconomic development achieved in the Sahara, saying that “France will accompany this approach for the benefit of the local populations.”
In a speech delivered in August 2022, Mohammed VI had said the Sahara issue “is the prism through which Morocco views its international environment … a clear and simple criterion measuring the sincerity of friendships and the effectiveness of partnerships.”
Morocco is now set to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup along with Spain and Portugal. The event offers huge opportunities for economic partnerships, says WPR, affirming that Rabat’s realpolitik approach has proven to be successful.
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