President William Ruto has walked back on recognising the existence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) state.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Ruto said that the country has recanted a statement where the SADR President Brahim Ghali was publicly acknowledged during his swearing-in ceremony.
“At State House in Nairobi, received a congratulatory message from His Majesty King Mohammed VI. Kenya rescinds its recognition of the SADR and initiates steps to wind down the entity’s presence in the country,” the head of state wrote on his Twitter.
He added: “Kenya supports the United Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to find a lasting solution to the dispute over Western Sahara.”
The Commander in chief further stated that the country would focus on strengthening the economic ties with Morocco.
“We are accelerating relations with the Kingdom of Morocco in areas of trade, agriculture, health, tourism, energy, among others, for the mutual benefit of our countries,” he stated.
Kenya was initially one of 41 UN member states that recognized Sahrawi state and pushed for a cease-fire with Morocco.
SADR is part of the disputed area in the North-Western Sahara, where it holds around 20% of the region while Morocco controls the remainder.
Mr. Bah Med was appointed as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Kenya by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration in 2014.
