Ikea’s Moroccan subsidiary told local media the opening of its 270,000-square-foot store in the country’s largest mall near the city of Mohammedia was canceled.
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Ikea had been planning to open five stores in the country, the first of which was due to open at the end of 2015 in Zenata, between Casablanca and capital Rabat. Instead, Morocco’s Interior Ministry released a statement on Monday saying that the store’s opening had been blocked as IKEA needed a “conformity permit”.
A website known for close ties to the Moroccan royal palace, Le 360, reported that the decision was linked to Swedish support for the Western Saharan independence movement.
The decision was reached after an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane., the report said.
Sweden’s support for the independence of Western Sahara has hit the headlines, after occupiers Morocco blocked the opening of a branch of Swedish retail giant Ikea in the country.
Ikea was founded in Sweden in 1943.
The Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence for the region, with a few 100,000 Sahwrawis living in the group’s camps in Algeria.
Morocco has controlled most of Western Sahara since 1975 and lays claim to the sparsely populated territory, which mainly consists of desert flatlands but also has offshore fishing, phosphate reserves and oilfield potential. However, the referendum never took place, and attempts at further negotiation have stalled despite United Nations condemnation.
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Katarina Byrenius Roslund said Sweden has not recognized the region as an independent state but is conducting an internal review of its “Western Sahara policy”.
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The dispute over Western Sahara’s independence goes back 40 years. It’s unclear if the block was temporary.
