Assahafa.com
With the ongoing momentum in support of Morocco’s Western Sahara position, there have been serious appeals from UK politicians who urged their government to follow in the steps of major powers like the US and France and recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces, or at least back the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the only serious and credible path toward a lasting political resolution of the Sahara question.
For years, the UK has clung to a traditional and very cautious position on the dispute, limiting this stance to its support for Morocco’s efforts within the framework of the UN-led political process.
But this position stops short of explicitly endorsing any particular solution, including the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, which has received clear and resounding support from over 113 countries in the past few years.
While London acknowledges Morocco’s engagement and efforts in the political process over Western Sahara, its position remains ambiguous and in stark contrast with Rabat’s new policy and approach over its interests.
In September 2022, King Mohammed VI set a clear vision for the future of the Sahara, both diplomatically and economically.
In his historic speech, the monarch stressed that Western Sahara is the lens through which Morocco views its relations and cooperation with other countries.
Morocco will enter into no agreement or partnership with any country that undermines its most important cause by challenging or casting doubt on its territorial integrity, the King stressed.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has recently acknowledged that the current UK government’s position on Western Sahara remains the same as that of the previous governments.
However, he stressed that the Sahara dossier is under review “as we continue to discuss these issues in the region.”
He made these comments during a parliamentary session in April, prompting speculation and signaling a potential change in the UK’s traditional stance.
Like many countries, such as the US, France, and Spain, the UK is well aware of what the Sahara dossier means to Morocco. This has been evident in the ongoing appeals and growing pressure from within the British establishment. Over the years, dozens of UK parliamentarians have repeatedly called on their respective governments to align with key allies by recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Last year, over 30 MPs and Peers penned a letter to the former UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Cameron, urging the timely recognition of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most viable solution to the dispute.
“Morocco stands paramount among these partner nations, it is a top strategic ally in North Africa, with shared values and perspectives crucial to both our countries,” they emphasized.
The letter also warned against separatism or division, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing or boosting bilateral relations with a key ally like Morocco.
“The dangerous escalations and catastrophic effects of conflict in the Middle East have intensified the spread of terrorism and extremism, providing an opportunity for hostile militias to broaden their ideological reach and influence beyond their own borders,” the letter reads.
It also emphasized the economic and geopolitical potential of the Western Sahara region, including the development of infrastructure in Morocco’s southern provinces, including the port of Dakhla.
The letter described the region as a “hub for innovation and international cooperation in Africa.”
In addition to this letter, several UK politicians individually called on their country to support the ongoing momentum by recognizing Morocco’s territorial integrity. Some have even joined international appeals, calling for the designation of the Polisario Front as a terrorist group.
Liam Fox, former Secretary of State for Defense in the UK, has for instance called on his country to label Polisario as a terrorist group. “Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Polisario Front is an Iranian proxy organisation. For the sake of our Moroccan allies, Western governments must move quickly to designate this group as a terrorist organisation,” Fox wrote on X.
Time to make up for previous diplomatic mistakes
Britain significantly contributed to colonial dynamics in Morocco in the early 20th century, particularly during the period surrounding the 1906 Algeciras Conference.
After wielding unrivaled political and economic influence over Morocco in the late 19th century, the UK renounced its economic interests in Morocco by signing the Algeciras Act alongside other European powers.
This act allowed France to establish control over Morocco, with the main goal of guaranteeing equal economic rights for all signatories. France, of course, dominated Morocco’s economy.
This means that the UK had a hand in facilitating France’s dominance over Morocco, its economy, and political affairs. In closely aligning with Paris, the UK contributed to dismissing the North African country’s independence aspirations, and safeguarding imperial integrity through diplomatic maneuvers.
The Algeciras conference ultimately resulted in a European agreement that divided interests and influence within Morocco, leading to its subjugation under French and Spanish colonization.
Well before the conference, France signed a treaty with Britain in 1904. In that accord, Paris renounced its ambitions in Egypt in favor of London. In exchange, France received the UK’s support for its right to occupy Morocco.
A third treaty also came the same year between France and Spain, confirming Spain’s right to occupy northern Morocco in exchange for supporting France’s expansion into the rest of Moroccan territory.
As many Western countries rush to embrace Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, observers have suggested that the UK is facing a now or never dilemma when it comes to making up for its historical mistakes in Morocco.
With France and the US having taken the bold decision of recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara, many in Rabat and Rabat hope to see the UK follow in their footsteps in the coming weeks.
Business interest
Beyond political interests, many countries decided to reinforce ties with Morocco as the country continues to position itself as a leader in several areas, including security, migration management, agriculture, and renewable energy.
With Morocco scheduled to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, the country has also become a target of business interests for governments and businesses.
Earlier this month, UK Minister of State for Investment Baroness Gustafsson answered an MP’s question on the country’s potential cooperation, reinforcing trade ties with Morocco.
Gustafsson said that the Department for Business and Trade is “committed to helping UK businesses export to Morocco.”
This effort aligns with the UK-Morocco Association Agreement the two countries signed in 2019 post-Brexit, he suggested.
“Bilateral trade was worth £4.2 billion in 2024, up £0.6 billion in current prices from 2023,” the minister stated, stressing the importance of Morocco as a co-host of the World Cup.
In a recent interview with Morocco World News (MWN), Chief Executive Officer of UK Export Finance (UKEF) Tim Reid also expressed his country’s determination to explore the World Cup as an opportunity for deepening British investments in Morocco.
“In Morocco, we are focusing on World Cup-related projects as we are keen to be part of this exciting adventure,” he said, noting the agency’s £5 billion commitment to Moroccan projects. The goal of such a move would be to contribute to positioning the North African country as a strategic launching point for British commercial interests throughout Africa, Reid argued.
Many British companies have also been operating in Morocco, particularly in the renewable energy sector, with companies like Sound Energy seeing Morocco as a promising hub in the sector.
Of course, such enthusiastic expression of interest is bound to be met by frustration from the separatist Polisario Front and Algeria, which continues to maneuver against Morocco’s territorial integrity by advocating and threatening companies not to invest in southern provinces.
In March, the Polisario Front explicitly turned to its terrorist tactics by targeting foreign businesses that are operating in Morocco’s southern provinces or seeking a presence in the region.
“Let the Sahrawi stay away from foreigners and not come telling us they’re civilians or innocent. This is not a tourism context, but a wartime context,” a member of the Polisario Front leadership said in March.
Amid the pressure and threats, UK Parliament Member Liam Fox urged British companies to seize investment opportunities in the region.
Speaking to Morocco’s official news agency, MAP, on the sidelines of the Innovation Zero World energy conference in London in April, Fox said: “British companies looking for partnerships should take a closer look at what Morocco has to offer, particularly in the Kingdom’s southern provinces.”
In March, the UK government also made it clear that UK businesses are free to operate in Morocco’s southern provinces, reaffirming that companies can make their own decisions on trade and investment in the region.
This came as another blow to the separatist group from the UK government. For context, it came two years after a significant court verdict from the London Court of Appeals, which rejected the appeal request of pro-Polisario NGO WSC against the Morocco-UK Association Agreement in 2023.
The lawsuit aimed to convince the British court to re-examine the trade agreement between the UK and Morocco to challenge Moroccan territorial integrity.
