Moroccan diplomacy, both official and partisan, has recently shifted its attention to several South American countries that recognize the «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)». On Friday, May 23, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed Marta Lucía Ramírez, former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, in Rabat. Ramírez, a member of Colombia's conservative party, now in opposition, also met the same day with Nizar Baraka, Secretary-General of the Istiqlal Party and Minister of Equipment and Water. «I shared with Minister Nizar Baraka our experience in successfully developing infrastructure concessions, enabling unprecedented construction over the past 50 years», she wrote on the platform X. This visit comes amid tensions within Colombia's left-wing government, in power since August 7, 2022. Vice President Francia Márquez, from the Afro-Colombian community, has publicly accused President Gustavo Petro's administration of «racism» and «patriarchy». President Petro reinstated Colombia's recognition of the «SADR» just three days after taking office—a move that sparked criticism from the upper house. On October 25, 2022, a majority of Colombian senators adopted a resolution expressing their «deep rejection and total disagreement» with the Foreign Ministry's decision to renew ties with what they described as a «separatist movement» claiming statehood, noting that «the vast majority of countries, including the United Nations, do not recognize it». Colombia is preparing for presidential elections in the summer of 2026. «The country needs a strong center-right candidate in 2026», Marta Lucía Ramírez told a Colombian media outlet last March. Ramírez's visit to Morocco coincides with that of Nabil Benabdellah, Secretary-General of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), who is visiting Venezuela and Cuba—two countries that also recognize the «SADR». In Caracas and Havana, Benabdellah is scheduled to meet with officials from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the Cuban Communist Party. The PPS has maintained cordial relations with these two leftist parties, currently in power in their respective countries. This renewed focus on countries recognizing the «SADR» follows a Moroccan diplomatic push in Mexico three months ago. That effort was marked by two key events: a speech by the President of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami, in the Mexican Parliament, and a visit to Mexico City by Driss Lachgar, First Secretary of the USFP.
