Calls to Review Mauritania's Position on 'Moroccan Sahara' Issue

The 'Awaser Forum for Dialogue', chaired by journalist Obeid Ould Imogen, organized an intellectual symposium in Nouakchott on "The security reality, political stability and geostrategic challenges in Africa, and Moroccan Sahara issue".

The symposium was attended by a galaxy of academics, intellectuals, and experts.

Lately, many Mauritanian voices and calls have arisen calling for "the necessity of reviewing the Mauritanian position on the Moroccan Sahara issue".

This came amid the significant changes witnessed in this regard recently, including the wide international recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Moroccan Sahara, as well as the political, security, and economic burdens on the Mauritanian side, which have surfaced since the separatists sought to close the Guerguerat border crossing before the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces intervened to open it.

The forum participants called for "reviewing Mauritania's position on the Moroccan Sahara issue in a way that serves the Mauritanian interests and the interests of the region in general."

In addition, the participants underlined the need to consider the Moroccan Sahara as one of the most important issues that have faced the African Union  (AU) since its inception.

They also discussed the ambiguity that characterized the AU's role without having ambitions to end the conflict over Western Sahara's sovereignty, despite the realistic offers made by Morocco.

The forum urged the Mauritanian government to reconsider the "strange recognition", affirming that Mauritania's relationship with Morocco is much more important and has stronger returns for the state than its relationship with a fictitious entity.

Moreover, they focused on the centrality of the Moroccan Sahara issue to Mauritania as "a strategic issue", stressing that Mauritania's recognition of Sahara as an (independent state) is not sacred, but rather a political act necessitated by certain circumstances.

This shows the voice of wisdom shown by the Mauritanian elites, as their discussions focus on the need to strengthen and support ties with Morocco in order to build its territorial integrity, as well as achieving economic and developmental integration in the Maghreb region as a whole.

On the contrary, the separatists' trials to hamper relations between the two brotherly countries and their negative repercussions and effects on the freedom of international trade exposed the "Polisario" front and its isolation.