Diplomacy at its finest: Council of Nation’ Speaker receives Sahrawi official, sports delegation
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS– The Speaker of the Council of Nation, Salah Goudjil, hosted, on May 22, a momentous event at the Senate headquarters. A delegation from the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) arrived, led by the Speaker of the Saharawi Parliament, Hamma Slama. The delegation also included the Sahrawi Minister of Youth and Sports, Haminatou Mohamed Cheblel, the SADR ambassador in Algiers, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, and the players of the SADR national football team. The team even played a friendly match against the Dean at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
Speaker Goudjil warmly welcomed the Sahrawi delegation and congratulated the Sahrawi people on their fiftieth anniversary of their successful liberation struggle against the Moroccan colonial yoke and the creation of the Polisario Front. He also extended his congratulations to the Saharawi leaders for the success of the Arab Symposium of Solidarity with the Saharawi People, which took place on May 17 and 18.
During the meeting, Salah Goudjil congratulated his guests on the birth of the Sahrawi national football team in Algeria, a land of martyrs and sacrifice. The event took place in the Nelson Mandela Stadium, named after the emblematic fighter for the dignity of peoples and their right to freely and sovereignly decide their destiny. Goudjil emphasized the importance of sports diplomacy, citing the FLN team’ sporting epic during the war of national liberation in 1958 as an example. The Polisario front is following in their footsteps and making great strides.
Goudjil and Hama Salameh expressed their satisfaction with the excellent historical ties between their two countries. They share a perfect convergence of points of view on all issues of common interest, thanks to the close and distinguished relations between the presidents of Algeria and SADR, respectively, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Ibrahim Ghali. The two parties also agreed on the need to work more aggressively in the African Parliament to defend the rights of peoples to freely decide their destiny.
Goudjil took the opportunity to recall the important historical stages already crossed by the Sahrawi cause, denouncing the betrayals of which it has often been the victim, including the Madrid agreements of 1975 and Spain’s current abrupt about-turn, supporting the illegal Moroccan autonomy plan.
