Israel’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara is a very important event, while the decision to open a consulate general in the city of Dakhla is excellent symbolism, says Driss Aissaoui, expert and political consultant.
The State of Israel has decided to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, said a letter sent to King Mohammed VI on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. This information was also made public through a press release from the royal palace.
This decision follows the resumption of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv, endorsed in December 2020. It demonstrates the mutual commitment of the two countries to consolidate their partnership and promote regional stability and prosperity.
Although this recognition is met with mixed reactions, with some voices expressing support for this decision and others raising concerns, it is undeniably a major development in regional diplomacy that could have a positive impact on cooperation. political, economic and cultural between Morocco and Israel.
For the expert and political consultant, Driss Aissaoui, the decision of the government of Netanyahu to recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over these territories of the Sahara is very important and comes at the right time, at the very time when Morocco is in the process of reaping a number of major achievements in foreign policy.
The specialist evokes, in a declaration to MoroccoLatestNews, the diplomatic advances of the Kingdom at the level of Africa and Europe. “I want to mention here the fact that relations with Spain are truly in good shape. We must also remember that the same work has also been done with Italy, with which Morocco has signed a strategic partnership agreement. The same has also been done with Germany, with which we are linked today by a strategic partnership agreement“, he continues.
On the other hand, Aissaoui highlights that Israel is a country that has a particular weight in Africa. He points out that Israel is developing partnerships with Senegal as well as with many other African countries, noting that this is a partnership based on the effective understanding of bilateral relations.
In addition, the political consultant recalls that it has been almost three years since the two countries reestablished their ties, within the framework of the Abraham Accords, and certain detractors of Morocco’s territorial integrity have begun to criticize this opening of partnership with Israel, questioning its relevance.
However, with Israel, these are relations of very good intelligence, adds the expert, stressing that Israel is a country with which all the countries of Africa in general, and Morocco in particular, maintain partnership relations in very high levels.
“It took time. For what ? Because Israel is a country that watches its foreign policy very closely, particularly in Africa. It does not want to become, if you will, a country that hits the wrong note in foreign policy“, explains Aissaoui.
And to add:On the contrary, there is even at the level of the decision of the letter that Benjamin Netanyahu sent to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, a commitment on the part of the State of Israel to open a consulate general at the level of the city of Dakhla, and this is excellent symbolism. You know, what is Dakhla? It is the gateway to the Sahara, to the Saharan provinces. It is the gateway to Africa and Morocco had already begun to develop a number of initiatives in the same direction.“.
According to Aissaoui, the city of Dakhla is a territory in full development, in particular with the construction of the Atlantic port. Moreover, the Moroccan government has set up a double track connecting Tiznit to Dakhla, which is an extraordinary achievement. “In fact, it’s practically a highway from the bottom of Morocco to the heart of Africa“, he said.
Dakhla is also a city offering many investment opportunities, especially in the agro-industry sector which benefits from an advanced irrigation system. In addition, a project to build a seawater desalination plant is also underway, continues the specialist.
“These are projects in which the Israeli government, through its proven expertise, will be able to actively participate with its ally, the Kingdom of Morocco. Relations between Morocco and Israel are relations that are based on human foundations. Some 1.5 million Israeli citizens have their origins in Morocco, whether at the level of Essaouira, Casablanca, Agadir and other very important regions are truly the places of recognition on the part of Israeli citizens.“, he said.
As for the timing of the decision, Aissaoui notes that all this came at a time when Morocco is in the process of implementing an extremely strong diplomatic strategy with Africa and with a number of European countries. “So it is a crescent of growth and prosperity which will be opened and which will open the heart of Africa to the heart of the Mediterranean basin.concludes the expert and political consultant.