Morocco and Zambia signed seven cooperation agreements on Friday in several different sectors in the city of Laayoune, the centre of the Sahara region disputed with the Polisario Front.
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This comes after Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, along with his Zambian counterpart Mulambo Haimbe, chaired the first session of the Joint Cooperation Commission between the two countries, according to the official Moroccan news agency, Maghreb Arab Press.
The agency reported that the two ministers signed: “Seven cooperation agreements concerning various areas of cooperation, especially tourism, renewable energy, vocational training, justice, investment and higher education.”
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During the joint committee’s work, the two ministers stressed: “Continuing the joint work to establish an intensive and multidimensional partnership that falls within the framework of the shared vision of the leaders of the two countries, King Mohammed VI and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.”
According to the Moroccan news agency, the Zambian minister also delivered a written message from President Hichilema to King Mohammed VI.
In a joint statement marking the first session of the joint committee with Morocco, the Zambian foreign minister praised: “The growing international consensus and the dynamism led by King Mohammed VI in support of the Moroccan plan for autonomy and Moroccan sovereignty over all of its Sahara.”
Haimbe commended the efforts made by the United Nations to reach “a realistic, practical and sustainable solution” to the regional dispute over the Sahara, according to the agency.
Rabat insists on its right to the Sahara region and proposes a solution of autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front demands holding a referendum on self-determination, supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.
