Rabat – Comoros announced on Wednesday, November 13, its determination to open a consulate in Laayoune in Western Sahara.
Morocco considers Laayoune part of its sovereign territory.
Bianrifi Tarmidi, the envoy of Comoros’ president, announced the news following a meeting with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita in Rabat.
The announcement comes only six months after the opening of Cote d’Ivoire’s honorary consulate in Laayoune in June, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reported.
Tarmidi said in a press briefing that “Morocco and the Comoros are brotherly countries.”
He added that bilateral cooperation between the two states is “intensifying day by day” in several fields, including training, agriculture, fisheries, and the environment.
Bourita said that the Comoros has always been a “brotherly” country, and one that has always “defended the causes of Morocco.”
Comoros is one of the countries that support Morocco’s territorial integrity and its position on the Western Sahara conflict.
Comoros has also voiced support for the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, a proposal submitted to the UN in 2007 as a political solution for the Western Sahara conflict.
It was one of the 23 countries that signed a declaration in September at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, expressing their unwavering support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative and the kingdom’s sovereignty over the disputed territory.
Comoros has a few diplomatic representations globally. The islands have only eight embassies—three in Africa—and five consulates around the world, according to Embassy Worldwide. Comoros does not have an embassy in Rabat.
