Consulate of the Republic of Chad in the Moroccan Sahara: Dimensions and Implications

Written by: Al-Baraq Shadi Abdel Salam

Moroccan-Chadian relations are not new as some think, but their historically documented roots go back to about five hundred years ago, when the first diplomatic contact was known between the Saadi Makhzen in Marrakesh and the Borno-Kanem Empire, which included the lands of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria today, where Sultan Idris Alooma sent an embassy to the Saadi Sultan Al-Mansur Al-Dhahabi in 1582 AD, after which a political and military alliance was formed between the two empires in the face of the Ottoman ambitions that threatened the two countries from the east, according to historian Zakaria Asifou, author of the book General History of Africa. It is certain that the civilizational relations between the Moroccan people and the indigenous African peoples around Lake Chad are not new as some imagine, as historian Ibrahim Harakat confirms in an article published in the magazine Da’wat al-Haqq that Al-Qarawiyyin University received large numbers of students from “Borno and Kanem” since (the thirteenth century AD), which is what the French historian Joseph Cook confirms in his book “History of the Islamization of West Africa from its inception to the end of the sixteenth century,” saying: “If “The path of worship led (Sudan) to Mecca, while the path of knowledge and thought led to the Maghreb, where the Sudanese felt that they were not foreigners, compared to the East.”//..

The Republic of Chad as a nation-state highly values ​​the concept of historical borders and is aware of the importance of the historical dimension in building diplomatic relations, which cannot be overlooked in our analysis of an important regional event, namely the opening of a Consulate General in Dakhla by the Republic of Chad in the presence of a high-level Chadian diplomatic delegation headed by Mr. Abderrahmane Gholamallah, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, International Cooperation and Chadians Abroad, Government Spokesperson
This confirms the depth of Moroccan-Chadian relations, which are deeply rooted in African history.
He, accompanied by his Moroccan counterpart, Mr. Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, supervised the opening of the Consulate General in Dakhla and the signing of a number of bilateral agreements concerning the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The opening of the Consulate General of the Republic of Chad in the city of Dakhla is a link between a long history and a glorious present between the Moroccan and Chadian peoples and a continuation of the same civilizational path that our ancestors followed thousands of years ago, based on historical and civilizational ties rooted in African history. This event also translates the desire of the Chadian leadership, represented by the great friend of Morocco, His Excellency President Mohamed Deby, son of the late President Idriss Deby, may God have mercy on him, to deepen Moroccan-Chadian relations and push them towards a strong strategic partnership, as the opening of this consulate confirms the correctness and rationality of the insightful royal vision derived from the long diplomatic history of the honorable Kingdom, where His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, was keen to build a strong, bold and integrated diplomatic system capable of developing effective and efficient response mechanisms in order to defend the supreme interests of the homeland and serve the central issues of the Moroccan nation with all the required seriousness. Here we can read this event from three basic angles:

First – The success of the Kingdom of Morocco in establishing the approach of consular diplomacy as a major political workshop that it worked on meticulously according to a qualitative approach aimed at consolidating the Moroccanness of the Sahara and translating a strong political will on the part of the institutional actor aiming to make the southern regions a link between Morocco and its African depth and one of the safest and most attractive economic corridors for multilateral cooperation within the framework of South-South. Thanks to this approach, the Moroccan Sahara has been transformed into an international political and diplomatic forum and a giant logistical bridge for economic cooperation between the countries of the South and a strategic civilizational corridor between the countries of the North and the South. It is certain that consular diplomacy is not just an approach aimed at opening a consulate in a city in the southern regions, but rather it is an actual translation of the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco to consolidate the pillars of human security in the Sahel and the Great Sahara and build a regional system for sustainable development in order to serve the African peoples.

Secondly – the qualitative work carried out by Moroccan diplomacy and other interests through responsible and serious advocacy for national issues and the desperate defense of Morocco’s strategic issues, such that Moroccan diplomacy was able to form a real firewall in the face of intrigues and conspiracies targeting the territorial integrity of the Kingdom. Many indicators confirm Morocco’s intensive diplomatic activity in Africa in general and the Sahel region in particular, where Moroccan diplomacy plays a central role in preserving Morocco’s supreme interests according to an innovative participatory approach embodied by: the Atlantic strategy for the Sahel countries and consecrated by the consulates approach.

Thirdly – The Atlantic strategy for the Sahel countries provided a new and attractive framework for regional cooperation in Africa, which enhanced interaction and coordination between the countries concerned through the royal vision that aims to deepen Morocco’s relations with the peoples of the region and strengthen civilizational ties with them through a new and innovative approach based on positively influencing the positions of these countries on many pressing regional issues such as combating terrorism, containing separatist tendencies, achieving sustainable development, strengthening political consultation mechanisms, energy transition, and studying climate change. We can include the opening of a Consulate General of the Republic of Chad in Dakhla within the framework of the positive impact of Moroccan policies in Africa based on respecting the sovereignty of countries and the independence of their national decisions. Here we can stand on three other indicators that clarify to us the nature of these influences and the extent to which their results are consistent with the African policy of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him.

From a procedural and technical standpoint, the initiative aims to enhance cooperation and integration between Morocco and the Sahel countries: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad. It is open to various neighboring countries to achieve the desired goals by facilitating landlocked countries’ access to the Atlantic Ocean by placing the Kingdom’s giant logistical infrastructure at the service of the peoples of the region. This initiative contributes to creating a common interest and an incentive for these countries to work together and contributes to strengthening diplomatic relations, economic cooperation and political coordination between these countries on a solid developmental basis. The opening of a Chadian consulate in Dakhla translates this indicator, and the Atlantic strategy for the Sahel countries is in line with the recommendations of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries and the efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), as the objectives of the Moroccan initiative for the Sahel countries are fully consistent with the “Review of South-South Cooperation in the Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries in the Decade 2014-2024”. The new programme of action for landlocked developing countries aims to help these countries overcome the challenges of sustainable development they face, such as promoting economic and social development in landlocked developing countries by improving access to markets, facilitating transport and transit, improving basic transport and trade infrastructure, including roads, railways and dry ports, encouraging regional integration and cross-border cooperation between landlocked developing countries and their neighbors, and enhancing the productive and competitive capacities of landlocked developing countries by establishing free trade zones, facilitating trade, improving access to information and communications technology in these countries to enhance networking and communication with the outside world, and enhancing financing. For development projects in the areas of infrastructure, trade, production, and strengthening institutional and human capacities in landlocked developing countries to improve their ability to participate in the global economy. All of these goals and objectives are included in the Moroccan Creative Initiative.

Politically, this initiative focuses on two concepts that have their own significance and context in light of the serious challenges threatening human security in the Sahel and Sahara region, a concept with an approach based on the principles of “joint development” and another based on “mutually beneficial partnership”. In terms of joint development, the Kingdom is working to develop and implement joint development projects with its regional and international partners in the region in a way that achieves mutual benefits and enhances integration and solidarity between the various parties, such as the Africa-Atlantic Pipeline Project, the African Electricity Interconnection Project, or the Morocco-Africa Coastal Road. As for the mutually beneficial partnership, Morocco seeks to establish balanced and beneficial strategic partnership relations in various fields such as economy, trade, investment, political, security and cultural cooperation, in a way that serves the common interests of all, which is translated by the Atlantic strategy for the Sahel countries, which is based on “joint development” and “mutually beneficial partnership”, meaning that this initiative is designed to create economic interdependence and harmonize common and overlapping interests between Morocco and the Sahel countries. This will lead to deeper economic integration and more trade ties.

The third indicator is related to the Moroccan diplomatic doctrine that defines the nature of the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Morocco, as this creative initiative was formulated as an embodiment of the Kingdom of Morocco’s involvement in the international movement calling for the strengthening of “South-South cooperation”, so that this creative initiative translates the royal vision to build an innovative approach to cooperation that goes beyond the traditional relationship between donors and beneficiaries, which has proven to be a failure historically, but rather moves forward towards building more equal and reciprocal partnerships, so that this approach helps build bridges of trust between the participating countries.

Today, the Kingdom of Morocco, in light of the serious challenges facing the world, especially Africa, and especially the Sahel and Sahara region, as a geographical extension of the Kingdom of Morocco and a former part of its historical borders and a vital area for Moroccan geopolitical action in Africa, we said that the Kingdom presents itself as a geopolitical safety valve for regional security thanks to Moroccan policies towards African countries, which makes all Moroccan initiatives towards their peoples welcome and of interest. What is evidence of this is the great popular momentum that the royal visits to various countries and regions of the African continent witnessed, as the Moroccan royal tour was the zero hour for the beginning of a new African era whose title is unity, solidarity and development. We all agree that through cooperation and economic and political integration between the countries of the continent, Africa can be transformed into an effective global power that contributes significantly to shaping the future of the world, and this will not happen except by summoning the political will and adhering to African solidarity to achieve the desired renaissance for the continent.

In light of this fierce global competition, the Kingdom of Morocco seeks to create a kind of balance by preserving the independence and sovereignty of its national decision in light of the values ​​of openness and integration, as the Kingdom is trying to work according to an African agenda with comprehensive humanitarian and developmental dimensions that aims to reformulate geostrategy in light of a purely African approach and work on the proposed solutions to crises and problems in a manner that is consistent with the aspirations and ambitions of African peoples for development, freedom and prosperity, which is what His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, emphasized in his speech addressed to all of Africa at the extraordinary summit of the African Union in Kigali in March 2018, saying, “We are in the process of building the Africa of tomorrow, which our children will inherit after us.” “As we build its edifice on solid economic foundations, we seek to ensure that its wealth will bring general benefit to the African peoples in the first place. If we have made important strides in building the Africa of the future and qualifying it to take charge of its affairs, we are also required to make further strides on the same path so that our economic development does not remain hostage to external whims and wills.”