Ex-Portuguese FM says Morocco’s Sahara breakthrough caps ‘golden year’ for Rabat’s diplomacy

Morocco’s diplomatic gains on the Sahara shaped a high-level discussion at this year’s Atlantic Dialogues, where speakers said the UN Security Council’s 2025 resolution, describing the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the only viable solution,  marked a regional turning point.

Former Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Portas called 2025 “the golden year of Morocco’s diplomacy,” noting that Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium all shifted positions in favor of Rabat.

He said the outcome was achieved through “persistence, soft power and zero coercion,” adding that even Russia’s abstention was unusual in a Security Council often split by vetoes.

Morocco’s Atlantic strategy took center stage as the conversation turned to the country’s broader regional agenda.

Morocco’s ambassador to the United States, Youssef Amrani, said the strategy rests on three pillars, stability, connectivity and opportunity, which he described as central to King Mohammed VI’s Atlantic vision. Stability, he said, is the foundation: “Look at the Sahel, look at the Maghreb, Libya, everywhere.” The latest UN resolution, he added, strengthens regional stability and offers a clear path forward.

Amrani outlined the flagship projects Morocco is advancing across the continent. At the top is the Dakhla–Sahel Atlantic Corridor, intended to give Sahel states direct access to the ocean for mineral exports and trade. He also cited the Dakhla Atlantic Port, one of Morocco’s most ambitious infrastructure projects, and the Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline, designed to create new energy links between North and West Africa.

But the ambassador stressed that the Atlantic vision “is not only about infrastructure; it’s about people.” He pointed to cultural and sporting platforms, including the Gnaoua Festival and upcoming African football events, as forms of soft power that reinforce Morocco’s connections across Africa.

Portas said Morocco has reasserted itself as a major African player, with influence visible “immediately” from Abidjan to other capitals through its banks, insurance companies, construction firms and cultural footprint.

He warned that Africa faces mounting instability, noting ten coup attempts in four years, and said Morocco’s stabilizing role is becoming increasingly significant.

The discussion then shifted to Europe. Portas argued that Europe remains overly focused on its eastern flank due to the war in Ukraine, even though the Atlantic and Africa are “strategic spaces Europe cannot afford to overlook.” He said Europe must engage Africa as a partner, not a project, stressing the continent’s young population and renewable energy potential.

Amrani said the European Union has not been as active in Africa as it should be, and that Morocco, positioned between the two shores, is working to bridge that gap. Africa, he said, needs partners ready for “multi-dimensional cooperation”, political, economic, security, energy and digital.