Morocco’s strategic positioning, initiated in 2016, on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which brings together ten countries including five founders, is beginning to bear fruit.
Yesterday in Rabat, Singapore, a founding member of this regional grouping, hailed the “serious and credible efforts” deployed by Morocco within the framework of the autonomy plan for the resolution of the Western Sahara issue. A position expressed by the Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, during a joint press briefing with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.
This support for Morocco’s “efforts” underlined by the head of Singapore’s diplomacy comes in the wake of the support of the Republic of the Philippines for the autonomy plan proposed by the kingdom. This is “a good basis” for reaching a political solution to the regional dispute, said, on March 18 in Rabat, the Philippine Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Locsin Jr. And to add that “on the subject of the Sahara, we are determined to defend the principle of sovereignty and equality of States enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We condemn and reject the use of separatism”.
As a reminder, Singapore’s support for Morocco’s “serious and credible efforts” for a resolution of the Sahara issue comes three weeks after the visit to this country by Algeria’s special envoy to Western Sahara and the countries of Maghreb, Amar Belani, as part of a tour of the five founding states of ASEAN. The Algerian diplomat also visited Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
In September 2016, Morocco acceded to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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