Today, Friday, Morocco announced that it would not participate in the 8th TICAD Summit, which was held in Tunisia on August 27 and 28, and immediately called its ambassador to Tunisia for consultations.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry said the decisions were made after Tunisian President Kais Syed officially received the leader of the Polisario, Ibrahim Ghali, and also after the delegation from the front participated in the summit. Moroccan newspaper Hespress.
The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: “Following Tunisia’s redoubling of negative attitudes and actions against the Kingdom of Morocco and its supreme interests, Tunisia’s actions within the TICAD (Japan-Africa Cooperation Forum) clearly confirm this approach.”
The Moroccan statement added that “Tunisia acted contrary to the opinion of Japan, violating the process of preparing for the forum and the rules established for this, and unilaterally decided to invite a separatist entity.”
He continued: “The reception given by the President of Tunisia to the leader of the separatists is an unprecedented and dangerous act that greatly harms the feelings and vitality of the Moroccan people.”
A statement from the Moroccan Foreign Ministry added: “Faced with this practice, incompatible with the fraternal relations between the two countries, the Kingdom of Morocco has decided not to participate in the TICAD 8 summit in Tunisia on 27 and 28 August. , with the call of the Moroccan ambassador in Tunisia for consultations.
The Moroccan Ministry emphasized that “this decision will not affect the strong and lasting ties between the peoples of Morocco and Tunisia, as well as the fact that they are united by a common history and a common destiny. It will also not affect the connection of the Kingdom of Morocco with the interests of the African continent or initiatives in the African Union, and Morocco’s participation in Tikad is still far away.
With the exception of Algeria, Mauritania and Syria, the “Sahrawi Republic” is not recognized by any Arab country, and Mauritania and Syria do not establish diplomatic relations with the Polisario.
On the other hand, most active Arab countries recognize the Moroccan nature of the Sahara, and some of them have decided to open consulates in the cities of Dakhla and El Aaiun, while Arab countries, especially the Gulf countries, seek to support the Moroccan position in international forums, especially at the UN.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development “TICAD” in Tunisia on August 27-28.
TICAD is a platform for Japan and African countries to discuss what is needed for further development. Japan has chaired the conference since 1993, and Japan hosted the previous TICAD meeting in 2019 in Yokohama.
