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Algeria organized a new edition of the Oran forum on December 1 and 2, traditionally intended to encourage African member countries of the Security Council to defend the positions of the Polisario. This year, Algerian diplomacy sought to broaden participation by opening up to African countries that have officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.
Thus, Somalia, which will join the Fifteen on January 1, 2025, along with Liberia and Djibouti, were invited to the «Oran process», now the new name of the forum. As a reminder, Djibouti has had a diplomatic representation in Dakhla since February 26, 2020. Liberia opened its chancery in the same city on March 12, 2020, while Somalia decided on September 24, 2022, to follow in the footsteps of its neighbor in the Horn of Africa.
On the sidelines of the «Oran process», the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, held talks with representatives of the three African countries.
Algeria proceeded with political calculation
The presence of states reputed to be close to Morocco led Algeria to set aside—at least temporarily—its traditional discourse in favor of the Polisario and to adopt a more «unifying» approach. The message addressed to the participants during the opening session by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, read by Ahmed Attaf, is a perfect example.
The head of state advocated for a «united and determined Africa more than ever to play an essential role in global affairs. Africa can no longer accept being relegated to the background in international priorities». A passage that coincides with the debate at the United Nations General Assembly on the imperative of an expansion of the permanent members' club of the Security Council to Africa, Asia, and South America. Algeria is trying to secure one of the two seats that could go to Africa, leaving the other to its South African ally. Morocco is also concerned with this race, even though it has not yet officially announced its intention to join the Five of the United Nations executive body.
Unsurprisingly, Ahmed Attaf followed suit. In his speech, delivered during the closing session of the Oran forum, he did not mention the Western Sahara issue, preferring to focus on Palestine and hint at «the double standards» of France, without naming it, regarding the international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against the Israeli Prime Minister.
If Algeria set aside its support for the Polisario to «succeed» at the Oran forum, shunned by many African foreign ministers, including those from Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Rwanda, it will nevertheless have the opportunity to once again use the «self-determination of the Sahrawi people» card during the visit of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Algeria on December 5 and 6.
