Western Sahara: Guatemala to Open Consulate in Morocco’s Dakhla

Rabat – Guatemala on Thursday announced its plans to open a consulate in Dakhla, reiterating its support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan to bring peace to the Western Sahara region.

The two countries broke the news in a joint statement issued after a meeting between Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Guatemalan counterpart Mario Bucaro Flores in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“Guatemala reiterated its clear position on the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, considering that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the solution to this dispute and announces the decision to open a consulate in the city of Dakhla to take advantage of its economic potential and its openness to the rest of the African continent,” the statement read.

Flores stressed that his country considers “the concepts of sovereignty, peace and territorial integrity very important,” adding “We support the position of Morocco on this issue and we will continue to support Morocco forever.”

The Guatemalan diplomat further lauded the reforms undertaken in Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, stressing that his country seeks to consolidate bilateral cooperation with Rabat.

Bourita, for his part, praised the role of the Central-American country in promoting peace at the regional and international levels and welcomed the reformist efforts made by the Guatemalan government.

As Morocco and Guatemala this year celebrate 51 years of diplomatic ties, Rabat and Guatemala City have committed to “give impetus to bilateral cooperation in the areas of tourism, training and energy, with particular emphasis on agriculture and fertilizers, at a time when the world is facing an acute food crisis”

For years, the Central-American country has held a positive stance towards Morocco’s stance on the Western Sahara dispute. In 2019, Guatemalan Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Fernando Carranza Cifuentes stated that Morocco’s autonomy plan is “realistic, credible, and serious.”

By opening a new consulate in Dakhla, Guatemala clearly expresses its interest in advancing bilateral ties amid unstable prices of energy and fertilizers. For Guatemala, Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP Group is a logical partner to help support the country’s food security.

In June, the two countries signed an agreement to build a fertilizer plant in Guatemala following a surge in the prices of fertilizers related to the Ukraine war.

Welcoming the move, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said that the plant “would supply Latin America and we would benefit since they would give us a much lower cost because we don’t have to pay for transportation or containers. It would be much cheaper with local production.”

Over the past years, Moroccan diplomacy has succeeded in securing international support, factoring in the country’s Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara dispute. A growing number of countries have voiced support for the peace plan after UN resolutions have repeatedly prioritized a political solution

Today, over 25 countries have opened diplomatic representations in the southern cities of Dakhla and Laayoune, reaffirming their support for Moroccan claims on the territory.