Morocco officially denies submitting application to join BRICS

Morocco denied, on Saturday, that it had submitted an official request to join BRICS.

According to Moroccan official News Agency, which quoted Moroccan official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Moroccan official said, “South African diplomacy has once again granted itself the right to talk about Morocco and its relationship with the BRICS countries, without prior consultation”.

Considering the issue, is about perceptions that don’t reflect reality in any way.

On August 7, the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that nearly 20 countries have submitted formal requests to join BRICS.

The South African Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that more than 30 countries have confirmed their attendance at the next summit, 21 to 24 August in Johannesburg, and that among the applicants for BRICS membership are 6 African countries, which are Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal.

The Moroccan official said, “The issue isn’t related to an initiative by BRICS or the African Union, but rather an initiative issued by South Africa in its national capacity”.

He added, “It has become clear that South Africa will distort the nature and purpose of BRICS meeting in order to serve an undeclared agenda,” noting that Morocco “excluded from the beginning any positive reaction to the South African invitation”.

The Moroccan official considered that the meeting is organized on the basis of a unilateral initiative of the South African government, adding that Morocco has therefore evaluated this initiative in light of its tense bilateral relationship with this country.

He said, “South Africa has always shown absolute aggression towards the Morocco, and has systematically adopted negative and dogmatic positions regarding the issue of the Moroccan Sahara”.

The dispute over the Western Sahara region continues create unrest with Morocco, which proposes expanded autonomy in the region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a proposal supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.

The Moroccan official pointed out that his country has important and promising bilateral relations with the other four members of the group (except for South Africa), and even has strategic partnership agreements with three countries in the group .

BRICS group was composed of countries with emerging economies, namely: Brazil, Russia, India and China, under the name BRIC first, then South Africa joined the organization in 2011 to become called BRICS.

The Moroccan official stressed that the future of Morocco’s relations with BRICS, whether in terms of its nature or its tonnage, will fall within the general framework and strategic directions of the Kingdom’s foreign policy, as defined by King Mohammed VI.

He pointed out that the Kingdom considers that multilateral platforms shouldn’t be used to encourage division or interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states, or to create precedents that may one day turn against the initiators of them.

The BRICS is a political organization that began negotiations to form it in 2006, and held its first summit in 2009.