Morocco blocks Ikea store over Sweden’s support for independent Western Sahara

The company spent months building the sprawling store between Casablanca and neighbouring Mohammedia, and it was slated to open Tuesday.

The government has suspended the opening of the country’s first Ikea store, in a last-minute decision reportedly linked to diplomatic tensions over the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. The referendum has has never taken place.

But the Swedish brand had failed to obtain the necessary “conformity permit” for the opening to go ahead, Moroccan authorities said in a statement, without elaborating.

The decision was reached after an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane., the report said.

A center-left coalition came into office past year, leading to speculation that recognition of Western Sahara may be imminent – speculation that only intensified after the government formally recognized the state of Palestine in November.

Algeria and Morocco have been at odds over Western Sahara since Rabat occupied the former Spanish colony in 1975, with Algiers backing the Polisario Front. But the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, has been seeking independence.

The United Nations recently renewed a peacekeeping force that’s been there since 1991.

Although no clear plan to recognize Western Sahara has been announced, Moroccan politicians appear to be spooked: There are reports in the Moroccan news media of a delegation heading to Sweden to fight against any support for independence.

It was unclear if the block was temporary or if permits would be granted for the store in the future. In 2012 the Swedish parliament voted to recognise Western Sahara, but the vote was not enacted by the Swedish government.

Meanwhile, nine Moroccan party leaders are due to visit Sweden this week, in an effort to convince Sweden to give up on its project to recognize the Polisario’s self-proclaimed Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.