Cape Verde, Togo to Open Consulates in Morocco’s Western Sahara

Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares at Wednesday'e event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares at Wednesday'e event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Cape Verde, Togo to Open Consulates in Morocco’s Western Sahara

Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares at Wednesday'e event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares at Wednesday'e event. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Cape Verde and Togo will will soon open general consulates in Dakhla, Western Sahara’s second largest city.

Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares and Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey made the announcement following talks with their Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita on the sidelines of the first Ministerial Conference of the Atlantic African States.

Cape Verde will also soon open an embassy in Rabat.

Bourita expressed his gratitude to Cape Verde for its support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

He recalled Cape Verde's commendable participation at the African Ministerial Conference on the African Union's support to the United Nations political process on the regional dispute over the Sahara. The event was held in Marrakech on March 25, 2019.

Twenty-five consulates have been opened so far in the Western Sahara region. There are 13 consulates in Dakhla and 12 in Laayoune.



Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday said that diplomatic efforts are ongoing to pressure Israel into halting its offensive on Lebanon.
He said that contacts have “intensified” in the past hours ahead of a session of the United Nations Security Council, aiming once again to achieve a ceasefire and increase pressure to stop the "Israeli aggression" on Lebanon.
He noted that “discussions are ongoing between the United States and France, which has requested the convening of the Security Council, with the goal of reviving a declaration for a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the resumption of talks on political solutions."
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians. Israel has carried out airstrikes in response and the conflict steadily escalated, erupting into a full-fledged war last month.
Israel has inflicted a punishing wave of blows against Hezbollah in recent weeks and says it will keep fighting until tens of thousands of displaced Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced since the fighting escalated in mid-September.