Jordan opens Consulate in Morocco’s Laayoune

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday held talks with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, discussing bolstering cooperation between the two countries in implementation of the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah and King Mohammed VI. 

In the presence of his Moroccan counterpart, Safadi inaugurated the Jordanian Consulate General building in Laayoune, in a ceremony attended by a number of officials in the city, a Foreign Ministry statement said. 

The consulate, Safadi said, is “a proof of Jordan’s support” to the unity of Morocco, stressing the importance of resolving the Western Sahara conflict. 

The decision of His Majesty King Abdullah to open a Jordanian consulate in the city of Laayoune and to continue the flow of civil and commercial movement in the Guerguerat region, is “a practical translation” of Jordan’s stance towards Morocco’s steps to protect its national interests, territorial integrity and security, and establish its sovereignty over all of Moroccan soil, the statement said. 

On his part, Bourita described the inauguration as “a proud writing of a bright page in the history of the two countries’ bilateral relations”.

The two sides reviewed regional developments, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause, stressing the need to intensify joint Arab action to ensure growth and stability in the region and serve mutual interests.

Safadi called for relaunching “serious and effective” negotiations to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestine on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. 

The Jordanian foreign minister also pointed to the significance of the positive gestures undertaken by the new US administration, voicing Jordan’s aspiration to work with it to achieve peace. 

Chances of achieving peace are undermined by illegal Israeli measures, including its violations in Jerusalem against Islamic and Christian holy sites, he added.

His Majesty King Abdullah, the custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and King Mohammed VI, president of the Jerusalem committee, both exert efforts to safeguard the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem and its legal and historical status, he said. 

On regional issues, Safadi reiterated the necessity to cease intervention in the internal affairs of Arab countries, rebuilding healthy regional relations based on cooperation and the principle of good neighbourliness, according to the statement.