MOROCCO DISMISSES SOUTH AFRICA RECEPTION OF POLISARIO LEADER AS ‘NOISY GLAMOUR SHOW’

Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita.

Fri 21 October 2022:

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has described South Africa’s reception of Polisario Front leader Ibrahim Ghali as a “noisy glamour show”, Anadolu has reported. Bourita made his remark in a joint press conference in Rabat yesterday with his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib.

Bourita’s dismissive comment was a pointed reference to Ghali’s reception by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the South African capital over the past couple of days.

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The Moroccan minister said that his country “will continue to defend its interests, especially since this [reception] damages bilateral relations, particularly in some economic fields.” South African companies cannot make profits at home and continue to see what their country is doing elsewhere, he added.

With regard to the Western Sahara, the sovereignty of which Morocco and the Polisario Front are in dispute, Lahbib said that Belgium considers the autonomy proposal suggested by Morocco in 2007 as “serious and credible… and a good basis” for an acceptable solution. “Belgium supports the efforts of the UN to reach a just and durable political solution that is acceptable by all parties.”

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