Côte d’Ivoire will shortly open a Consulate General in the Moroccan Southern city of Laayoune, announced on Wednesday spokesperson for the Ivorian government, Sidi Tiémoko Touré. The decree establishing the consulate in Laayoune was adopted by the Council of ministers, convened Wednesday in Abidjan, the spokesperson announced at a press briefing. “This measure aims to bring the consular administration closer to Ivorian nationals living in southern Morocco and to strengthen their consular protection,” he said. This new Ivorian consular administration in Morocco will also consolidate the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the spokesperson said. Participants in a Moroccan-Egyptian Strategic Forum, held recently in Dakhla, welcomed these African countries’ decision to open consulates in the Moroccan southern provinces as another evidence of support for the moroccanness of the Sahara.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 30, 2020 13:07 UTC