On August 14, 1979, the population of Oued Eddahab, represented by their notables and theologians from various tribes, presented in Rabat their oath of allegiance to the late King Hassan II and reiterated their attachment to the Alawite throne, demonstrating to the world that the Sahara has always been Moroccan and it will remain Moroccan territory.
The event shows the unshakable bonds linking the province and the rest of the kingdom and the ever-confirmed attachment of the province populations to the territorial unity and the Alawite throne.
The recovery of Oued-Eddahab crowned a long battle waged by Morocco to perfect its territorial integrity, started on November 23, 1957 when the southern Ait-Baamarane tribes stood up against colonization, leading to the liberation of Tarfaya in 1958, Sidi Ifni in 1969 and other parts of the Sahara after the glorious Green March in 1975.
The attachment links were further highlighted during the visit on March 4, 1980 by late king Hassan II to Dakhla, major city in the Oued-Eddahab province. The visit gave a new impetus to the march for national unity.
29 years after it was recovered by Morocco, the province emerges now as a modern region, enjoying high-quality infrastructures, roads, ports, hospitals, schools. After a long period of an exclusion policy adopted by the colonial authorities, a dynamic construction and modernization process is undertaken in the Oued-Eddahab province under the aegis of king Mohammed VI.
In view of the importance of fishing for local population, existing port infrastructures were revamped while another port, considered as the second largest port in Morocco was built.
Regarding agriculture, several measures were taken in the province that counts one million hectares of arable land to ensure irrigation and modern farming machinery.
The achievements accomplished in the region are another challenge taken by Morocco after the battle to recover this region was won. The aim is to break the isolation of the region and secure a lasting development to make of the Lagouira-Oued Eddahab region Morocco’s gate to the African continent.