Morocco continues AU moves with Senegal visit

By Alpha Kamara

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) – King Mohammed VI of Morocco continued his country’s steps to reactivate ties with other African nations with a trip to Senegal on Monday.

Having arrived on Sunday, the monarch will later speak at a gathering in Dakar to commemorate the 1975 Green March. Over 350,000 civilians were mobilized at that time to force colonial power Spain to hand over land to Morocco.

Currently, Senegal hosts a large number of Moroccan citizens involved in trade and other activities.

King Mohammed has visited other African countries recently, holding talks with regional leaders including current African Union chair Idris Derby for Morocco to rejoin the organization.

Morocco withdrew from the AU in 1984 in protest at the organization’s admission of the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic which had been unilaterally declared by the Polisario Front several years earlier.

According to a release from the Senegal’s presidency, the Moroccan monarch’s visit to Senegal is “part of strengthening old relationships and multifaceted cooperation" between Dakar and Rabat.

Last week, Tanzania voiced support for Morocco’s position on the ongoing dispute over the Western Sahara region, according to a joint statement issued by the Tanzanian and Moroccan governments.

The Tuesday statement, which was carried by Morocco’s official press agency, said Tanzania’s stance was based on "the principle of reconciliation and the need for a permanent solution" to the decades-old dispute.