Rabat – In its latest coverage of the joint military exercise African Lion, BBC Arabic featured an undivided map of Morocco.
During a BBC Arabic report on African Lion 2021, presented by the Syrian journalist Ahmed Fakhoury, the news segment used an undivided map of Morocco, recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The military exercise, taking place between June 7-18 across Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal, is the 17th year of the initiative. As part of the exercise, Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and the US military are joined by military personnel from nine countries, including Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Senegal, and Tunisia. Also participating are military observers from 30 countries.
The US government formally adopted the undivided Moroccan map following former US President Donald Trump’s proclamation that officially recognized the Moroccan character of Western Sahara in December 2020.
The former US Ambassador to Morocco, David Fischer, said he hoped to gift a representation of the map to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, in acknowledgment of “his bold leadership, and for his continuous and invaluable support for the deep friendship between our nations.”
Ever since the US government adopted the undivided map, various US governmental agencies — as well as both US-based and international businesses — have followed suit. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the US airline Delta all adopted Morocco’s undivided map earlier this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also took up the undivided map in its latest global growth forecast which was published in April. The report was featured in renowned financial publications such as Bloomberg, bringing the undivided map to a global audience.
At the same time, the map has drawn ire from some of Morocco’s rivals. Algerian media have been using the undivided map as a rallying cry to mobilize sufficient international support in Algeria’s campaign against Morocco’s territorial integrity.
