The China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC) kicked off today, Wednesday, in Beijing. This summit is a key opportunity for China to strengthen its economic presence in Africa, a continent of strategic importance. However, the absence of the Polisario at this event, as well as other recent international forums, highlights Algeria’s attempts to promote this separatist group seeking legitimacy both domestically and internationally.
The Polisario has been excluded not only from FOCAC but also from other international forums such as the Africa-Indonesia Forum, the Africa-Korea Forum, and the Africa-Italy Summit. Including this separatist entity, lacking the attributes of a recognized state, has always posed challenges for the hosts of these events, as it undermines the objectives of cooperation and continental integration.
This context has led the African
Union to exclude the Polisario from its international meetings with external partners. This decision reflects the growing awareness that the Polisario’s presence hampers integration and cooperation in Africa, jeopardizing the African Union’s credibility as a continental organization.
Despite this, Algeria continues to support the Polisario, employing questionable methods, as evidenced by the incident at the Africa-Japan Summit (TICAD), where Polisario representatives attempted to attend with Algerian diplomatic passports. Morocco successfully countered this attempt, causing embarrassment for Japan, which reaffirmed its stance on the Sahara issue.
The incident in Japan and the increasing exclusion of the Polisario from international forums confirm the strategic necessity of removing this entity from international partnerships. Growing support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and the autonomy plan as a solution to the conflict faces Algerian stubbornness, which persists in backing the Polisario in an attempt to destabilize the region.
