Morocco’s Foreign Minister flies to Latin America to strengthen ties with Panama and Ecuador

Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita has been touring Latin American countries, since Tuesday, visiting the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Chile and Brazil. All of these states have one thing in common : they do not recognize the self-proclaimed «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic». Paramaribo and Santo Domingo withdrew their recognition of «SADR», in 2010 and in 2016 respectively.

On the other hand, Chile and Brazil, as well as Argentina, have never recognized the separatist entity. They have been resisting the pressure put by the Polisario’s powerful allies in the region.  

In September 2014, Brazilian deputies submitted a motion, calling the state to normalize diplomatic ties with the Polisario Front. The same initiative was launched, in May 2016, in Chile. To avoid similar actions, Nasser Bourita visited Paramaribo and Santo Domingo, where he held talks with several senior officials.

These visits aim at giving Morocco the opportunity to better political and economic relations with these states and assist their position on the Western Sahara issue, especially that they tend to change it often.

Avoiding past mistakes

This was the case in 2016 in Panama and Ecuador. Morocco, at the time, failed to strengthen ties with the two countries after they cut relations with the Polisario, allowing Algeria to fill the gap. In December 2016, former Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar visited Panama City, where he failed to convince the country into withdrawing recognition of «SADR». At the time, Mezouar noted that the capital was home to a Polisario embassy.

In 2014, Paraguay announced that it maintains its position on the self-proclaimed republic. Since January 2016, Morocco has been providing help for the Paraguayan government. During the same period, the Kingdom granted Morocco $1 million to help the country heal from the severe floods.

In February 2018, Rabat showed support for the country, granting it 700 thousand dollars for the renovation of three family hospital units, located in Guaira and three others in the region of Caazapa.

The current foreign minister's tour has not planned a stopover in Mexico, which recognizes «SADR».