Rabat – The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe inaugurated a consulate general in Laayoune, southern Morocco, today, January 23.
The small island in the Gulf of Guinea became the fourth African nation to open a diplomatic mission in Laayoune and the sixth to open in Morocco’s southern region of Western Sahara.
The new consulate joins those of Cote d’Ivoire, Comoros, and Gabon in Laayoune, and Gambia and Guinea in Dakhla.
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita chaired the inauguration ceremony of Sao Tome’s consulate, along with his Santomean counterpart Elsa Teixeira de Barros Pinto.
Morocco views the new African consulates in Dakhla and Laayoune as markers of successful diplomatic efforts in favor of the North African country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in Western Sahara.
At the opening of the General Consulate of Gambia in Dakhla on January 7, Bourita said that the inauguration of diplomatic missions in the region “will strengthen the vocation of the region as the gateway to Morocco on the African continent.”
The FM made similar statements during the opening of Comoros’ consulate in Laayoune on November 13 and emphasized that the inauguration of the consulate was “an event of great significance [as it answers] the question of the Moroccaness of the Sahara.”
The Central African Republic also opened a consulate general in Laayoune today, bringing the total number of African consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla to seven.
Read also: Egyptian Experts Applaud African Consulates in Morocco’s Dakhla, Laayoune
