Morocco World News
Sunday April 3, 2022
Rabat - Chief diplomats from Morocco and Somalia have
reviewed long-standing diplomatic relations between the two countries, calling
for further cooperation in areas such as regional stability.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita on
Thursday held talks with his Somali counterpart, Mahmoud Abdi Hassan, on the
sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the International Research Center for
the Prevention of Child Soldiers in Dakhla.
The center seeks to protect children from exploitation in
armed conflicts, a very present issue in Somalia.
Bourita and Abi Hassan’s meeting also took place the same
day that the UN General Assembly unanimously voted in favor of the new African
Union mission in Somalia.
The new mission is expected to prioritize taking concrete
actions against armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as
supporting the Somali government in its efforts to restore stability across the
country.
The new AU Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) replaced
the 15-year-old AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which failed to restore peace
and stability in the country.
Political
‘brotherhood’
Morocco and Somalia have long-standing “brotherly”
relations, reaffirmed the two chief diplomats during their Thursday meeting.
Ministers also called for the countries to look at new areas of cooperation.
Over the past few years, Somalia has shown continuous
support for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. This stance was clearly
underlined by Somali authorities when Morocco launched an operation to reopen
the Guerguerat crossing point in November 2020.
The Moroccan operation came in response to a three-week
blockade imposed by the separatist Polisario Front. The blockade disrupted the
flow of civil and commercial traffic in the region impacting Western Saharan
and Mauritanian people.
Multiple countries, allies of Morocco, expressed support for
the country’s operation including Somalia.
“The government of the Federal Republic of Somalia stands
alongside the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco in all the measures it undertakes to
protect its security and sovereignty over its territories at the Guerguerat
crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania,” tweeted the Somali Ministry of
Foreign Affairs on November 17, 2020.
Over the years, Moroccan-Somali cooperation has extended to
numerous sectors.
The two countries signed in 2019 three memoranda of
understanding with regard to the creation of the Morocco-Somalia High Joint
Committee, co-chaired by the countries’ foreign ministers, the building of a
political consultation facility, and cooperation in the training of diplomats.
The three agreements opted for the consolidation of
diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations between Rabat and Mogadishu through
the continuous exchange of knowledge and expertise as well as mutual support of
shared interests within regional and international organizations.