Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Bucarohas reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
During a meeting with the president of the Moroccan House of Councilors, Naam Miyara, Bucaro said that the “Guatemalan people” are ready to support Morocco’s position on Western Sahara “anytime it is needed.”.
Miyara conveyed the Moroccan people’s “gratitude to friendly countries that remained steadfast in their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.”
He also expressed the North African country’s satisfaction with bilateral relations between Rabat and Guatemala City.
Praising the “special relations” the two countries share, the president of the House of Councillors stressed the need to benefit from the geographical location of the two countries to boost trade exchanges.
The strategic importance of the Dakhla, in southern Morocco, can serve as a link between Latin American countries and Africa, he emphasized.
Bucaro echoed Miyara’s remarks, stressing that there is a “shared desire” to collaborate on joint diplomatic and cultural initiatives to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Guatemala.
“Morocco can play pioneering roles in promoting south-south cooperation and in establishing peace and security,” Bucaro said, adding that Rabat has “strengthened this role by reestablishing Moroccan-Israeli relations.”
He also recalled his country’s gratitude for Morocco’s humanitarian initiatives to support the Guatemalan people during natural disasters.
Guatemala has joined a growing number of Latin American countries that have supported Morocco’s efforts to reach a political solution to the Western Sahara conflict based on its autonomy initiative.
During a 2019 visit to Morocco, former Guatemala’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Fernando Carranza Cifuentes, affirmed his country’s support for “Morocco’s efforts to find a political solution to this regional dispute.”
Cifuentes added that Guatemala “considers that the autonomy initiative presented by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2007 constitutes the realistic, credible and serious basis for achieving a negotiated outcome between the parties, in the context of respect for Morocco’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”
Original story on MWN