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King Mohammed VI

KIGALI. — Moroccan King Mohammed VI has announced its wish to rejoin the African Union (AU), 32 years after its withdrawal from the regional organisation over the “Western Sahara” dispute.

“Our friends have long been asking us to return among them so that Morocco may take its natural place within its institutional family. That time has now come,” the king said in a message to the ongoing AU summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.

The North African country left AU, at that time called Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in 1984, as the institution recognised the independence of “Western Sahara”, which Morocco deemed as part of their coun- try.

“When it withdrew from the OAU, Morocco never left Africa. In 1984, it simply left an institution in very special circumstances. A process is underway, under the auspices of the UN Security Council, to reach a final political solution to this regional dispute,” said the King in the statement.

The king pledged that Morocco would contribute to making the AU a more robust organisation. — Xinhua.