DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP): Tugboats pack the bustling port of Dakhla, where fish flakes are shone from workers ’weapons as they roll up the nets and shoppers call for bids at an extensive auction warehouse . Nearby are turquoise waters, almost empty Atlantic beaches and diners drinking tea at the sidewalk cafes.
The United States plans to leave its mark on this picturesque setting.
U.S. Ambassador to Morocco David T. Fischer attended a ceremony in Dakhla on Sunday, the first formal step in opening a consulate, marking a turning point for disputed and closely guarded territory in North Africa. .
The US movement recognizes Morocco’s authority over the land, in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel.
Fischer joined the region’s top State Department official, David Schenker. Both diplomats wore Moroccan white robes.
“Our trip today to Dakhla is another historic milestone in more than 200 years of friendship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America,” he said in the quote from the U.S. embassy in the account of Morocco.
While this shift in U.S. foreign policy frustrates indigenous Sahrawis who have sought independence from Western Sahara for decades, others see new opportunities for trade and tourism that will provide a good boost for the region and coastal cities such as Dakhla.
Addressing the meeting, the U.S. ambassador said the opening of a consulate is an advantage for the United States, as it allows it to “further take advantage of Morocco’s strategic positioning as a center of trade. in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. ” Investment and development projects will benefit the region, he added.
A portrait of Moroccan King Mohammed VI, waving behind his sunglasses, hangs from the crenellated archway that greets people arriving in Dakhla. The king’s face is juxtaposed on a map that includes Western Sahara as an integral part of Morocco.
Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, which sparked a 16-year war and then 30 years of diplomatic and military stalemate between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an organization that seeks the independence of Western Sahara with headquarters in Algeria and with their support. The long territorial dispute has limited Western Sahara’s ties to the outside world.
Khatat Yanja, head of the Dakhla regional council, hopes the arrival of the United States will open its city to new markets and persuade more tourists to enjoy its beaches, local items and stunning sunsets. He expressed his hope for American investment in tourism, renewable energy, agriculture and especially fishing.
“We appreciate that gesture,” Yanja said of the future consulate. “It will completely open a new chapter in terms of investment in this region, by hiring people and creating more resources. It will also open more doors to international trade.
The main fishing port is the lifeline of the local economy, which employs 70% of Dakhla’s workforce. Thousands of vessels contribute 500,000 tons of fish a year, for exports of 2.2 billion dirhams ($ 249 million) a year, according to port director Bintaleb Elhassan.
Under flocks of horned gulls, fishermen transport sardines and mackerel to warehouses where the catch of well-lined trays is auctioned. At nearby processing plants, rows of women, including migrants from all over Africa, clean and sort the fish.
Morocco firmly police the region. On a recent visit to Dakhla, authorities closely monitored an Associated Press reporter the way they are usually visitors and residents.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State David Schenker visited the city of Dakhla and the largest city in Western Sahara on Saturday, Laayoune. He and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita are expected to present a provisional diplomatic post on Sunday.
While the consulate is not expected to open for another six to twelve months, Schenker’s trip is a way for the U.S. to consolidate its commitment to Western Sahara before President Donald Trump leaves office.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner helped negotiate a normalization deal between Morocco and Israel announced last month, which is part of a series of historic deals. which won the Arab countries great favors from Washington in return.
Trump said the goal of the Western Sahara consulate would be to “promote economic and trade opportunities in the region,” which is roughly the size of Colorado and is believed to have considerable oil and mineral resources.
United Nations Polisario Front Representative Sidi Omar on Saturday appealed to the administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to reverse Trump’s decision.
“The United States cannot support the role of the United Nations in resolving the Western Sahara conflict or support Moroccan sovereignty,” Omar tweeted.
The economy of Western Sahara is run by Morocco, which has built most of the territory’s infrastructure and encouraged Moroccans to settle there. But the United Nations and most world governments do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over land, limiting Morocco’s ability to export its resources and complicating trade agreements.
For many people in Dakhla, at least those who are allowed to talk to visiting journalists, local concerns seem to outweigh geopolitical ones. Residents commute to work, sell clementines, buy jewelry, enjoy local specialties at the sidewalk cafes, and play with their dogs on the quiet beaches.
The American recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco attracted criticism from the UN and America’s allies. African observers have said it could destabilize the wider region, already fighting Islamist insurgencies and migrant trafficking.
The action has particularly angered the Sahrawis, who want a referendum on the future of the territory, and neighboring Algeria, which welcomes Sahrawi refugees and supports the Polisario. Schenker also visited Algeria in recent days.
The United States will join a small but growing number of countries with consulates in the territory, the most recent representing the Gambia.
“The Gambia is grateful for the support of Morocco, including Morocco which is building the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in The Gambia. In addition, Morocco continues to award educational scholarships to Gambian students, “Consul General Ousmane Badjie told The AP in his office, where a portrait of the Moroccan king is also hung.
Sahrawi activists held protests in several Spanish and French cities over the American movement, but Washington did not directly address its concerns when on December 24 the State Department formally communicated to Congress its plans to open a consulate..
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said only that the United States “will continue to support political negotiations to resolve the problems between Morocco and the Polisario within the framework of Morocco’s autonomy plan.”
___
Matthew Lee in Washington and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.