Following the February 15th visit of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali to Ireland, the Irish embassy in Rabat issued a press release clarifying the nature of the visit. The statement emphasized that Ghali's presence in Dublin was a «private visit» and did not constitute an «official invitation» from the Irish government. They reiterated Ireland's longstanding position of not recognizing the «SADR» and reaffirmed their support for the «UN-led and the Secretary General's efforts to bring about definitive and mutually acceptable political settlement» to the Western Sahara issue. However, the embassy's statement notably omitted any direct reference to the meeting between Ghali and Irish President Michael D. Higgins, which took place at the presidential palace on the same day. This has drawn attention to previous interactions between Irish officials and Polisario representatives, including President Higgins' reception of former Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz in 2012 and a meeting with a Polisario delegation in 2019.
