Jordan set to open consulate in Western Sahara

RABAT, Morocco

Jordan is set to open a consulate in the Western Sahara region on Thursday, a Moroccan Foreign Ministry official told Anadolu Agency.

"Jordan will open a general consulate in Laayoune [the largest city of the disputed Western Sahara region] on Thursday," said the official, who preferred to remain unnamed due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

He said the opening ceremony of the mission is expected to be attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

There was no comment from the Jordanian authorities on the report.

Amman said on Nov. 20, 2020, that it was planning to open a consulate in Laayoune following a phone call between Moroccan King Mohammed VI and his Jordanian counterpart King Abdullah II.

Jordan will be the third Arab country to open a consulate in the Sahara region after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

Nineteen countries have so far opened diplomatic missions in Western Sahara -- 11 in Laayoune and eight in Dakhla, a city in the disputed region.

Morocco says Western Sahara is part of its territory, while the Polisario Front seeks to establish the region as an independent state.

The Front staged guerilla warfare against Morocco over the disputed region until the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement under UN mediation in 1991.

Since then, negotiations on the status of the region have failed to solve the conflict.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara contributed to this report.