Morocco to resume normal diplomatic relations with Germany
Morocco announced its intention to resume “normal” diplomatic relations with Germany after it suspended contact with its embassy in Rabat since March, the Moroccan foreign ministry said Wednesday.
In a statement published by the Moroccan News Agency, the ministry said it “welcomes the positive statements and constructive positions recently expressed by the new federal government of Germany”.
“These statements will allow the resumption of bilateral cooperation and the return of the diplomatic representations of the two countries in Rabat and Berlin to their normal form”, it added.
The German Foreign Ministry on December 13th published a statement on its official website stating that its position on the Moroccan Sahara conflict has not changed for decades.
It stressed that it supports the Personal Envoy of the United Nations in his quest to find a just political solution, in accordance with the last resolution on this conflict, noting “the important contribution made by Morocco in 2007 to reach this solution through the autonomy proposal”.
Berlin’s criticism of the U.S. decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over this disputed region with the Polisario Front late last year was a key reason why Morocco announced a suspension of all communication with the German embassy in Rabat in March, a Moroccan official said at the time.
Rabat suspended all contacts with the German embassy in Morocco on March 1 due to a deep misunderstanding with Berlin. On May 6, the Moroccan ambassador was summoned for consultations, after accusing Berlin in particular of hostile acts.
The post of the German ambassador in Rabat is also vacant.
Morocco, which controls around 80% of the territory in the vast desert region, is proposing autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front, which has Algerian backing, is demanding a referendum on self-determination.
In its latest resolution on the decades-old conflict, the UN Security Council in late October called on Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to resume negotiations without preconditions to reach a just and lasting political solution aimed at determining the fate of the people of the Moroccan Sahara.
Rabat commended the Council’s position, while it displeased POLISARIO.
Rabat’s exclusion from negotiations on Libya’s future at a conference in Berlin in January 2020 was also one of the reasons for the deep differences that justified the Moroccan decision on Berlin.
In its recent position, the German Foreign Ministry praised the Kingdom’s important role in the stability of the region and its involvement in the peace process in Libya.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it “hopes that these statements will be accompanied by actions that reflect a new spirit and give a new start to relations based on clarity and mutual respect”.
“Germany is ready for a partnership that looks to the future, and the Federal Government unequivocally welcomes the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel”, according to a December 7 statement on the Facebook page of the German embassy in Rabat.
Germany is one of Morocco’s most important economic and trade partners, with some 300 German companies active in the country, in addition to being one of its main donors in bilateral cooperation programs.
