Jordan to open a consulate in Morocco's Sahara region

The UAE and 16 African states have previously opened consulates in the territory

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein. AFP

Jordan will open a consulate in Morocco's Sahara region, the Royal palace in Rabat said on Thursday.

The decision to open it came after a phone call between King Mohammed VI and King Abdullah II.

The Jordanian monarch welcomed “the reopening of the passage to the safe movement of people and goods between the Kingdom of Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa,” the Royal palace said in a statement.

Morocco administers around 80 per cent of the 266,000 square kilometres of the sparsely populated desert region.

It has held it since Spain quit in 1975 and regards it as an integral part of its own land.

The UAE and 16 African states have also opened consulates in the territory.