Lusaca, 16 July 2022 (SPS) – The Moroccan state of occupation has failed to convince African delegations to exclude the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) from participating in the work of the 8th summit of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), scheduled for August 28 and 29 in Tunis, the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) having approved, Thursday in Lusaka, a resolution through which it calls for the participation of all African countries in this appointment.
This resolution was approved at the end of a closed session marked by a long debate of African foreign ministers, within the framework of the 41st session of the Executive Council of the AU whose work is currently taking place in the Zambian capital.
According to well-informed sources, the Moroccan representative tried in vain, during this meeting, to convince all the African delegations of the need to exclude the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), by advancing vain arguments according to which "the partnership linking the African countries to Japan does not fall within the framework of the AU.
An attempt doomed to failure, according to the same sources, in that no state, even those allied with the Makhzen, supported the Moroccan position. On the contrary, many participating African ministers noted the need to ask the Japanese partner to extend an invitation to all African countries, including the Sahrawi Republic.
At the end of the session, a draft resolution prepared by the Chairperson of the Council, Senegal's Minister of Foreign Affairs, included this point and instructed the AU Commission, headed by Chairperson Moussa Faki, to keep Japan informed of the common African position on this issue.
It should be noted that the "TICAD" summit is one of the most important international forums for development cooperation between African countries, Japan and international bodies.
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