Algiers, September 7, 2019 (SPS) - Sahrawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Saturday in Algiers that the achievements made as regards the Sahrawi cause at the 7th Tokyo International Conference on the Development of Africa (TICAD7), were a victory and a lesson that reflect the place of the Sahrawi State in the African Union.
"This victory reflects the place of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in international conferences and world summits as part of the partnership, as well as its glorious and now irreversible journey to regain its rightful place among nations and within the framework of the UN," Ould Salek said in an interview with the Sahrawi television’s "Al Hadath" programme.
Morocco can do nothing in the face of this Sahrawi momentum, he stressed.
In the interview that focused on the last International Conference held in Japan (from August 28 to 30 last) and the Moroccan attempt, along with Japan, to exclude SADR from the meeting, Ould Salek described the battle as a "bitter failure", thanks to the AU's commitment to the Sahrawi cause.
"The Conference was a victory for Africa, after the AU demanded from Japan to choose between the respect for the continental organization, by accepting the participation of all African countries, including SADR alongside Morocco, or the non-holding of the Conference, or even the end of partnership with Japan," said Ould Salek.
Recalling Japan's previous attempts, in Maputo (capital of Mozambique) in 2017 and in Tokyo in October 2018, the Sahrawi FM claimed that at the Yokohama conference, "Japan realized that the AU's approach to imposing its policy and respect of its partners, is now a prerequisite for any participation." (SPS)
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