Uruguay reportedly ‘Freezes’ Ties with Polisario

Local news outlet El Observador reported on Wednesday 14th December that the Uruguay government is “determined” to reinforce diplomatic and trade relations with Morocco, stressing that the Latin American country has “frozen ties” with the separatist group to open room for deepening cooperation with Rabat.

The news outlet stresses that the countries determination “necessarily requires canceling or suspending relations with the Sahrawi Democratic Republic.”

But the determination of the country’s new leadership to deepen strategic cooperation with Morocco “necessarily requires canceling or suspending relations with the Sahrawi Democratic Republic,” argued El Observador.

The reported decision comes just a week after a working meeting between Moroccan and Uruguayan parliamentary delegations in Rabat on December 5.

Jorge Osvaldo, Vice President of Uruguay’s senate led the delegation to Morocco to participate in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Economic Forum.

“The talks focused on the state of bilateral relations between the two countries, the role of parliamentary diplomacy in clarifying visions and positions and opening a new page between Morocco and Uruguay on the basis of respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of States,” the Moroccan House of Representatives said in a statement earlier this month.

“Both parties also expressed the importance of Morocco for Uruguay as a gateway to Africa and that of Uruguay for Morocco as a gateway to South America.”

If confirmed, Uruguay’s decision to withdraw recognition of the Polisario Front will mark another milestone in Moroccan diplomacy’s quest to isolate the separatist group as more voices, including those that once sympathized with the Polisario, hail Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the best route toward a lasting solution to the Western Sahara dispute.

Over 28 countries have opened consulates general in Morocco’s southern provinces of Dakhla and Laayoune to reflect their support for the Moroccan position on Western Sahara.

The list includes the central American country of Guatemala, which opened its consulate in Dakhla on December 1.

King Mohammed VI has recently celebrated the growing support for Morocco’s territorial integrity, thanking all countries that have publicly endorsed the Moroccan Autonomy Plan and opened their consulates general in the southern provinces.

“I should like to say how much I value the position adopted by our brothers in Africa; approximately 40% of African countries from five regional groups have opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla,” the King said in August.