Morocco suspends contact with German embassy in Rabat

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it has suspended all contact or cooperation with the German embassy in Rabat and all its German institutions.

Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said in a letter addressed to the prime minister and other government members that the decision was due to deep misunderstanding with Germany on key issues of concern to the Arab state, without giving further details. Bourita also called on all Moroccan government sectors to halt all cooperation and communication with the German embassy and German political organizations and any institutions linked with the embassy.

Though the statement did not clarify the reasons behind this temporary severing of relations with the embassy, local media reported that it is related to Berlin's stance upon the issue of the Sahara region. In December, a US decision under the Trump administration to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara was criticized by Germany and had called a UN Security Council meeting to vote over the region's fate.

Experts state the decision was also due to Germany's failure to invite Morocco for an international conference last year. Berlin had hosted the conference in January 2020 to address the Libyan situation, inviting heads of several regions tangled in the conflict in Libya along with representatives of the European and the African Union and the Arab League.

"Morocco wishes to preserve its relationship with Germany, but this is a form of warning expressing unease over many issues," a senior foreign ministry official told AFP. "There will be no contact until we have received answers to the various questions we have posed."