Morocco strengthens ties with Mexico over Sahara issue

Morocco's parliamentary and partisan diplomacy is shifting its focus toward Mexico, a country that recognizes the «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic» (SADR). Following the visit of a delegation of MPs led by the President of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami, to Mexico City last week, it is now the turn of the First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Driss Lachgar, to take over. In Mexico City, Lachgar met with Alejandro Moreno, the leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a member of the Socialist International.

«A very pleasant meeting with my friend Driss Lachgar, President of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) of Morocco, a sister party of the Socialist International (SI). We discussed global challenges and the emerging new international order, as well as the development of a shared agenda of interest between Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean», the PRI leader wrote on X on Monday.

This visit aligns with the PRI’s evolving stance on the Sahara issue. Following his meeting with Talbi Alami last week, the PRI president explicitly supported Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara. «This visit marks the beginning of a new phase in our party’s international relations, reaffirming its recognition and solidarity with the legitimate struggle of the Moroccan people to defend their sovereignty over Western Sahara», Moreno stated on the same platform.

Notably, it was under the PRI’s leadership that Mexico recognized the SADR in 1979. In October 2024, the PRI and SADR celebrated the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in Mexico City.

Mexico is also one of the main importers of phosphates extracted from the Sahara.