Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Yemen and Somalia withdrew from the 4th Pan Arab-African Summit held in Equatorial Guinea, to protest the presence of the flag of the self-proclaimed Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic separatist movement, non recognized by the UN, in the meeting rooms of the Summit.
A statement from Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “Morocco and eight other Arab countries were forced to withdraw from the summit over the non-respect of the principles of Arab-African action. The participation in the activities organized by the two parties should be restricted to the United Nations member countries, which was not the case with the presence of the emblem of a puppet entity in the meeting rooms.”
The move from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, and Sudan is no strange as the GCC council considers the disputed Western Sahara region in Morocco as Moroccan.
As a matter of fact, few months ago, the GCC council issued a communiqué to reaffirming their “position supporting the fact that the Sahara is Moroccan.”
The communiqué of Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs added, “Most countries have supported this position, which is consistent with the principles of international law, including the respect of the sovereignty and the territorial unity of states.”
The statement went on further to stress that “Morocco and the other Arab countries that announced their withdrawal from the summit have always been fully aware of the importance of the Arab-African partnership and of the role of these two groups in maintaining international peace and stability. The commitment of these countries to these principles has always been and will remain strong.”
“The Kingdom of Morocco and other Arab and African countries have sought to provide all the support needed to ensure the success of this summit held in this friendly African country and hail the great efforts made by the president, the government and the people of the republic of Equatorial Guinea in this regard,” the communiqué closed.
The Moroccan Times.
