Rabat – Sierra Leonean diplomat, Zainab Candy, was installed as her country’s consul general in Dakhla earlier today.
The new diplomatic representation now brings to 25 the number of consulates in Morocco’s Morocco’s southern provinces of Laayoune and Dakhla.
Candy was installed in her new position by the Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone in Rabat, Atumanni Dainkeh, during a ceremony at the headquarters of the consulate of the West African country.
Attending the ceremony were the governor of the province of Oued Eddahab, the Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation, and a host of diplomats and reporters.
The Sierra Leonean embassy in Rabat was inaugurated at a ceremony this Friday.
The strengthening of Moroccan-Sierra Leonean diplomatic relations comes amid an official visit of a delegation from the West African country.
Following his meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita last Friday, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister, David J Francis, spoke at length about agreements between Rabat and Freetown to cement and broaden their cooperation.
In addition to announcing plans to open a consulate general in Dakhla and an embassy in Rabat, Francis voiced his country’s support for the ongoing Moroccan-Nigerian gas pipeline project.
During last week’s UN’s C24 seminar, the Sierra Leonean delegation also voiced their country’s support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a solution to the regional dispute over the Western Sahara.
West Africa as a whole is steadily demonstrating unwavering support for Moroccan territorial integrity. In addition to 15 sub-Sahara, three Arab countries – Bahrain, Jordan, and the UAE – have also opened their consulates in Morocco’s southern provinces.
In response, Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister, has said that the opening of consulates in the country’s southern provinces is a much-needed morale boost for Morocco’s strategy to defend its territorial integrity.
For Bourita, the succession of consulates in Morocco’s southern territories is the result of Moroccan diplomacy’s relentless efforts to make a compelling case for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara region.
