German foreign minister visits Morocco after diplomatic row

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is in Morocco for talks with her counterpart Nasser Bourita on Thursday, with both countries saying they want to turn the page on months of tension over a territorial dispute.

On her arrival in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Baerbock said many new ideas for cooperation had been developed and that many good projects from the past had been put on a new footing.

In a joint statement, Germany and Morocco "declared their willingness to establish a strategic dialogue on bilateral as well as international issues of common interest"

"With regard to the issue of Western Sahara, the German Minister reiterated Germany’s longstanding support to the United Nations-led process for a just, pragmatic, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution for the parties," the joint statement read.

Why were Germany and Morocco at loggerheads?

Germany had criticized former US President Donald Trump's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, a stance Rabat saw as "unfriendly."

The desert region has been claimed by Morocco and the Indigenous Sahrawi family, led by the Polisario Front and backed by Algeria. Polisario is fighting for an independence referendum and has the support of the United Nations.

Berlin said that the territorial dispute should be resolved through negotiations at the UN, leading to a diplomatic standoff with Rabat.

Baerbock and Bourita succeeded in ending the dispute at a video conference in February. 

The area still sees occasional clashes despite being monitored by a UN mission. 

What partnerships are Germany and Morocco envisaging?

Baerbock has said the area of renewable energy sources was a prime focus, as both countries praised the "long-standing cooperation" between the two nations, in fields such as "sustainable development, sustainable agriculture and forestry, biodiversity, climate, renewable energy, water and food security.

Baerbock also focused on the issue of regional and international security.

"The two Ministers also expressed their deep concern about the worrying evolution of the terrorist threat in Africa aggravated by the proliferation of armed non-State actors, and more particularly in the Sahel region," the joint statement read.

Following her visit to the kingdom, Baerbock plans to fly on to Denmark.

tj,jcg/rt (dpa, AFP)