(Ecofin Agency) - The Moroccan authorities have blocked the commissioning of the first store of Swedish DIY furniture giant IKEA in the kingdom which was initially scheduled for 29^th September, on the official basis that the project “did not have a certificate of conformity”.

“The shopping mall project of the company Ikea in Zenata has no certificate of conformity, which must be issued by the municipality and the related civil services”, the Casablanca Wilaya indicated in a communiqué.

According to the Moroccan news website Le360, known for being close to the Royal Palace, the Moroccan government took this decision following “the project of Sweden to officially recognise the utopian Arab Sahraouian Democratic Republic (RASD)”.

The territory of the former Spanish colony in Western Sahara, annexed by Morocco in 1975, is claimed by the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria. At the beginning of September 2015, MPs of Swedish Workers’ Social-Democrat Party submitted a bill for the recognition of RASD. “In retaliation against the position of the Swedish Social-Democrat government to recognise the separatist entity, it was decided to reconsider the interests of this country in Morocco”, Le360 highlights.

“Ikea does not do politics”, the Managing Director of Ikea Maroc, Marino Maganto, reacted.

Ikea had announced in July that it was considering opening five outlets in Morocco, in order to reach from 1.2 to 2 million customers.