Ghana endorses Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara

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By Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT (Reuters) – Ghana said on Thursday it views a Moroccan autonomy plan as the sole basis to settle the Western Sahara dispute within the framework of the UN, aligning itself with a growing number of Western, African and Arab countries that back Rabat’s position on the dispute.

The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the desert territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario front, which seeks an independent state there.

Ghana considers the autonomy plan “as the only realistic and sustainable basis to a mutually agreed solution to the issue,” said a joint statement issued after talks between Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita in Rabat.

The UN should remain the exclusive framework for finding a solution to the issue, the statement said.

The position was expressed few days after similar stands by Kenya and the UK, reflecting a diplomatic shift in Morocco’s favour.

Ghana and Morocco also agreed to promote defense cooperation and work on a visa waiver deal.

With Morocco home to fertilizers and phosphates giant OCP, the two countries agreed to cooperate on food security, the statement said.

Moroccan fertilisers will help Ghana develop cocoa farming and reduce dependence on food imports, worth $3 billion annually, Okudzeto Ablakwa told reporters.

Ghana, part of the Morocco-Nigeria pipeline deal, backs Morocco’s initiative to help landlocked Sahel states access global trade through the Atlantic, he said.

Moroccan minister Bourita said Ghana’s position on the conflict was conducive to bilateral cooperation.

The Moroccan autonomy plan has gathered steam since the U.S. recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020, followed by France last July.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alistair Bell)