Côte d’Ivoire backs Morocco’s Atlantic initiative

Côte d’Ivoire has become the latest West African country to back Morocco’s efforts to help unlock the trade potential of landlocked Sahel countries, by offering them access to its infrastructure, including Atlantic ports.

Speaking at the end of fifth session of the Morocco-Côte d’Ivoire Joint Grand Cooperation Commission held in Laayoune, the largest city in the Sahara territory, Côte d’Ivoire’s foreign minister Léon Kacou Adom said the initiative “evidences Morocco’s support for Africa’s development.”

He noted that his country can only “naturally” endorse such an initiative and play its part. Côte d’Ivoire is a beneficiary of King Mohammed VI’s vision and the Kingdom’s economic and industrial successes, he said.

“This is why we’re 100% behind this Initiative, and we’re paying close attention to its development and implementation,” added the Ivorian top diplomat.

Adom also reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty over the Sahara.

“For Côte d’Ivoire, this position is non-negotiable,” he said, describing the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco as a “credible and realistic” solution for resolving the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

In 2020, Côte D’Ivoire opened a consulate in Laayoune. So far, 29 countries have opened a consular representation in the territory in a tangible support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and an acknowledgement of the Sahara’s territory’s economic and development potential as well as its role as a gateway to Africa.

About Khalid Al Mouahidi 4597 Articles
Khalid Al Mouahidi : A binational from the US and Morocco, Khalid El Mouahidi has worked for several american companies in the Maghreb Region and is currently based in Casablanca, where he is doing consulting jobs for major international companies . Khalid writes analytical pieces about economic ties between the Maghreb and the Mena Region, where he has an extensive network