Ghana supports Morocco’s Western Sahara autonomy initiative

Ghana, joining an increasing number of Western, African, and Arab nations that support Rabat’s stance on the issue, stated on Thursday that it sees a Moroccan autonomy plan as the only foundation for resolving the Western Sahara problem within the UN framework.

Morocco, which claims the desert region as its own, is at odds with the Algeria-supported Polisario front, which wants to establish an independent state there, in the long-frozen conflict.

Ghana views the autonomy plan “as the only realistic and sustainable basis to a mutually agreed solution to the issue,” according to a joint statement released following discussions between Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the country’s foreign minister, and Nasser Bourita, his Moroccan counterpart, in Rabat.

The statement stated that the UN should continue to be the sole foundation for resolving the problem.

The stance, which reflected a diplomatic shift in Morocco’s favor, was made a few days after Kenya and the UK took similar positions.

Additionally, Ghana and Morocco decided to collaborate on a visa waiver agreement and advance defense cooperation.

According to the statement, the two nations decided to work together on food security because Morocco is home to the massive fertilizer and phosphate company OCP.

Okudzeto Ablakwa said reporters that Moroccan fertilizers, valued at $3 billion a year, will assist Ghana in expanding cocoa cultivation and lowering reliance on food imports.

According to him, Ghana, a party to the pipeline agreement between Morocco and Nigeria, supports Morocco’s plan to assist landlocked Sahelian nations in gaining access to international trade via the Atlantic.

Ghana’s stance on the dispute, according to Moroccan Minister Bourita, is favorable for bilateral collaboration.

Since the United States and France acknowledged Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020 and July of last year, respectively, the Moroccan autonomy plan has gained momentum.