Giant Swedish furniture dealer, Ikea, obtained on Feb.11 the certificate of conformity for the opening of its first store in Zenata (about 50Km from Rabat.

The commissioning of the store which was initially planned for September 29, 2015, was halted due to the “lack of certificate of conformity”. However, according to various media, the Moroccan government was just trying to pressure Sweden, who had many of its deputies of the ruling party submit a law proposal for the recognition of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

In this regard, two Moroccan delegations led by Nabila Mounib, Secretary General of the United Socialist party, and Saadeddine El Otmani, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, have recently travelled to Stockholm to talk authorities into not recognizing the sovereignty of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic which is claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

Last July, Ikea said it planned to open five new stores in Morocco, in order to grab 1.2 million to 2 million new customers.