Othmani: Securing Guerguerat Crossing Led to ‘Qualitative, Strategic Shift’

Saad Eddine El Othmani
Saad Eddine El Othmani
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Othmani: Securing Guerguerat Crossing Led to ‘Qualitative, Strategic Shift’

Saad Eddine El Othmani
Saad Eddine El Othmani

Morocco’s Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani has affirmed that securing Guerguerat crossing, on the borders between Morocco and Mauritania, was a correction of “an illegal situation on ground.”

He said this step contributes to consolidating the South-South cooperation in the framework of Morocco’s integration with its African economic and social environment.

Speaking at the House of Representatives (lower house) on the occasion of the monthly public policy session, Othmani pointed out that this event is a milestone in the history of the national cause because it brought about “a qualitative and strategic shift on ground.

Commenting on the Royal Armed Forces’ intervention in securing the border crossing after the Polisario Front obstructed the commercial movement there, the Premier stressed it was a correction of the situation after the Kingdom pledged to maintain the most possible self-control and has exhausted all possible means to force separatist militias to withdraw.

The operation came in line with the international legitimacy and in full respect for the Kingdom’s international obligations, including the UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement, to which Morocco is still adhered to.

Othmani hailed the support received by Morocco from several friendly countries and the opening of consulates in the Saharan regions, in what he considered “a practical translation of these countries’ conviction that Morocco is serious in its initiative to reach a political solution to the fabricated dispute over its Sahara region.”

“The inauguration of consulates and support for Guerguerat operation could be added to Morocco’s diplomatic victories.”

He also highlighted the development programs implemented by the country in its Sahara regions.

These include the 2016- 2021 development program, which includes program contracts to implement more than 700 projects with an initial total budget estimated at 77 billion dirhams ($7.7 billion).

The budget was later raised to 85 billion dirhams ($8.5 billion), which includes the completion of major programs, such as the highway, which links between Tiznit and Dakhla cities, along 1.055 km at a cost of 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion).

He also referred to 17.8 billion dirhams-worth ($1.78 billion) Phosboucraa industrial program in Laayoune, the wind and solar energy sites in Laayoune, Tarfaya, and Boujdour, with a total capacity of 600 megawatts at a cost of 8.7 billion dirhams ($870 million), as well as the Atlantic port of Dakhla at a cost of 10 billion dirhams ($1billion).



Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
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Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)

US lawmakers have renewed pressure on Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Pruitt to provide answers on their plans to ease the crippling economic sanctions on Syria.
The move comes as the United States seeks to influence the transitional process following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Two weeks after their initial letter, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Representative Joe Wilson, Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a bipartisan follow-up letter to Rubio, urging the State Department to provide details and a clear timeline on the Trump Administration’s plans to revise US sanctions on Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime.
In their letter, they acknowledged the historic opportunity Syria faces for rebuilding in the absence of Assad’s repressive regime.
“We are writing to request a follow-up briefing to discuss the specifics of the State Department’s plans to update US sanctions on Syria. As noted by your response, we mutually recognize Syria’s historic opportunity to rebuild in the absence of Assad’s repressive rule,” wrote the lawmakers.
The request follows a letter Warren and Wilson sent to the Department of State last month, pressing the administration to reevaluate outdated, broad-based sanctions that now risk undermining regional stability and reconstruction.
“Our current sanctions not only threaten Syria’s economic and social stability but also risk spurring migration, worsening dependency on illicit drug exports, and once again providing inroads for Iran or Russia,” they also noted.