Colombia recognizes that Western Sahara belongs to Morocco

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, said, this October 28, from Morocco, that Colombia will extend the consular jurisdiction of the embassy to “the entire Moroccan territory”, clarifying that this includes Western Sahara.

The clarification made by the official generated controversy because, according to El País, this territory is the center of an arduous dispute between the Saharawi organization Polisario Front and its principal ally, Algeria.

Due to the dispute over this territory, the statements were not well received, and the world media even recalled the position of former U.S. President Donald Trump, when on December 10, 2020, he decreed the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, in exchange for Morocco normalizing its relations with Israel.

At that time, even though the U.S. country was seeking support, no country spoke out until now, when, on behalf of Colombia, the Vice President ratified the words of the former U.S. president.

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Due to the great controversy created by the words pronounced by the Colombian representative, on October 31, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it clarified Ramirez’s comments.

“In the face of erroneous interpretations published by some media, it is reaffirmed that Colombia, as stated by the Vice President and Foreign Minister in the joint communiqué with Morocco, maintains its historical position of supporting the various Security Council resolutions, which recognize Morocco’s efforts in the search for a political, pragmatic, realistic and lasting solution to this dispute, under the exclusive auspices of the U.N. In this communiqué, the Vice-President and Foreign Minister welcomed the appointment of the new personal envoy of the U.N. Secretary-General for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura”, reads the document.

In the same line, as mentioned by W Radio, the institution noted that it is wrong to infer different consequences to the phrase of the Vice President and Chancellor on the extension of consular assistance, to that of guaranteeing better and comprehensive attention to Colombians, which is governed by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 and in no case implies effects of recognition of sovereignty.

It should be recalled that after the meeting held by the Chancellor with Nasser Bourita, which lasted four hours, the official emphasized that Colombians will not need a visa to travel to Morocco. This benefit was framed in the Visa Exemption Agreement for Ordinary Passports.

Ramirez stressed that the entry into force of this agreement demonstrates the excellent state of diplomatic relations between Colombia and Morocco, its character as a strategic partner in Africa, and the confidence that more and more countries have in Colombia by opening their doors territories.

“We want Morocco to be Colombia’s gateway to Africa, but also Latin America’s gateway to that continent. We want a closer relationship between Latin America and Africa, with the leadership of Morocco and Colombia”, noted Marta Lucía Ramírez.

It is essential to mention that after this agreement, Morocco became the first country in the African continent to remove the visa requirement for Colombian citizens. In addition, they highlighted the importance of working together on non-conventional renewable energies, infrastructure, development of the space industry, migratory phenomena, the fight against corruption, and the fight against drugs.