Rabat – A group of eastern Caribbean nations has cemented its support for Morocco’s stance in the Western Sahara dispute, by opening a general consulate in Dakhla on Thursday.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit opened the consulate on behalf of six eastern Caribbean countries.
“The relationship between Dominica and Morocco is as strong as sincere as committed that you will find maybe nowhere else in the world,” said Skerrit, reaffirming his country’s “full support to the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as a unique basis for a consensual political solution to [the Western Sahara dispute].”
The consulate will represent six Eastern Caribbean countries, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint-Kitts and Nevis, Saint-Lucia, and Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines, providing the region with a “very significant and promising diplomatic presence” in Morocco, noted a joint press release.
The new inauguration increases the number of consulates in Dakhla to 14, representing 19 countries, said Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita in a press conference.
The Moroccan chief diplomat highlighted the symbolic meaning of Skerrit’s visit to the country’s southern provinces as well as the signing of a bilateral cooperation roadmap for 2022-2024.
The strategy aims to strengthen and further diversify the partnerships between the two countries in the agriculture, tourism, education, and vocational training sectors.
The Dominican leader praised King Mohammed VI’s leadership in addressing “the global fight in respect to climate, migration, access to education, and economic prosperity for the benefit of not only the Kingdom of Morocco but also countries across the world.”
Skeritt also commended the “pioneering role” of the Moroccan monarch in advocating for south-south cooperation through the implementation of “tangible socio-economic development projects” to promote stability and prosperity worldwide.
For his part, Bourita praised the “decisive” role of the Dominican leader in consolidating the position of Morocco in the Caribbean, as well as supporting the country’s territorial integrity within regional and UN institutions.
Recalling the 2020 Morocco-Pacific Island States event in Laayoune, the Moroccan foreign minister called for the organization of the Morocco-Caribbean Community Forum by the end of the year to consolidate multi-sectoral bilateral relations between the North African country and its Caribbean partners.
