Jordan to open consulate in Laayoune

Jordan is set to open consulate general in southern Moroccan city following phone conversation between Moroccan and Jordanian kings.

RABAT – Jordan is going to open a consulate general in the southern Moroccan city of Laayoune, two weeks after the United Arab Emirates inaugurated Wednesday its consulate there.

The announcement came during of telephone conversation Thursday between Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

This call falls within the framework of the strong bonds and the sincere affection which bind the two Sovereigns, and mirrors the tradition of continuous consultation and permanent coordination between the two Kings, as well as the relations of fruitful cooperation and active solidarity between the two brotherly Kingdoms, said the Royal Palace in a statement

“King Abdullah II expressed to HM the King the wish of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to open a Consulate General in the Moroccan city of Laâyoune. The necessary arrangements for this purpose will be coordinated by the foreign ministries of the two countries,” said the statement.

The Jordanian monarch backed King Mohammed VI’s decision to secure the movement of people and goods in El Guerguerat border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania.

Jordan’s decision is further dealing a blow to the Algeria-backed Polisario Front’s efforts to claim the independence of the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, especially after several countries around the world withdrew their recognition.

Last month the UN Security Council passed resolution 2548 which called for a "realistic, practicable and enduring solution ... based on compromise."

That language was widely seen as calling into doubt any referendum on the territory's future - a goal long sought by the Polisario and backed by the United Nations in the 1991 ceasefire.

Western Sahara, though a sparsely populated desert region, has rich fishing waters, phosphate deposits and Morocco's only working land route into the rest of Africa as its border with Algeria is closed.

Rabat considers Western Sahara an integral part of Morocco and proposes autonomy for the resource-rich territory.

Several African countries and the United Arab Emirates opened their consulates in the North African Kingdom’s southern provinces as a way of backing Morocco’s territorial integrity and autonomy plan.