Suriname To Open Consulate General in Morocco’s Dakhla Thursday

The Republic of Suriname is joining the growing cohort of countries that have acted on their steady support for Morocco’s territorial integrity, with the southern American country announcing today that it will open its consulate general in Morocco’s southern province of Dakhla on Thursday, May 26.

The opening will come more than a year after the southern American country announced its willingness to open a diplomatic representation in Dakhla.

While visiting Morocco in March of last year, Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Albert Ramdin reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and announced the forthcoming opening of a Suranemese embassy in Rabat and a consulate in southern Morocco.

Following up on his pledge more than a year later, the top Suranemese diplomat announced today his government’s decision to officialize the opening of the two representations during a high-level meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita. The embassy will be opened today, while the consulate will be inaugurated tomorrow, he noted.

In a joint communique, Bourita and Ramdin expressed satisfaction with their meeting and commended the quality of the bilateral relations between the two countries in a wide range of areas.

In particular, Suriname emphasized its support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara, recalling that Rabat’s Autonomy Plan constitutes a “unique basis” for a consensual and workable political solution to the Sahara dispute.

“In this spirit, the Government of the Republic of Suriname has opened a General Consulate in Dakhla,” noted the joint statement in reference to the strong and improving ties between Paramaribo and Rabat.

Once a sympathizer of the Polisario Front, the separatist group pushing for independence in southern Morocco, Suriname withdrew recognition of Polisario’s self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 2016.

The South American country has since taken significant steps to distance itself from the separatist front and cement its diplomatic rapprochement with Morocco. As such, the opening of Suriname’s consulate in Dakhla is yet another watershed moment for Moroccan diplomacy: It is a testament to Polisario’s growing isolation on the world stage and Morocco’s growing diplomatic gains.

While the separatist front’s shrinking but still vocal group of sympathizers and supporters has continued its attempts to undermine Morocco and reverse its recent gains, most developments in at least the past three to four years suggest the prevailing international consensus around Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.

So far, 24 countries have opened their consulates in southern Morocco, including 12 states in Dakhla and 12 in Laayoune, and behind-the-doors talks suggest more countries are considering the move to cement their long-standing belief that Morocco’s Autonomy Plan is the best route to a lasting political solution to the Western Sahara dispute.