Morocco quits Africa-Arab summit over Polisario delegation
The walkout of eight Arab nations at the fourth Africa-Arab World Summit in Equatorial Guinea comes as Rabat is attempting to rejoin the African Union
Malabo — Morocco and several Arab countries walked out of an Africa-Arab nations summit in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday to protest the presence of a delegation from the Polisario Front, media reports said. Morocco, which is a big investor in Africa, quit the fourth Africa-Arab World Summit, which focuses on economic co-operation, along with seven other Arab nations — Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Yemen — and Somalia. The Moroccan delegation took the decision to protest "the presence of the emblem of a puppet entity in the meeting rooms", the Moroccan foreign ministry said, quoted by the Moroccan news agency MAP. Morocco maintains that Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony under its control, is an integral part of the kingdom, while the Polisario Front, which campaigns for the territory’s independence, demands a referendum on self-determination. The Moroccan delegation quit the one-day summit in Malabo as Rabat is attempting to rejoin the Af...
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