Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Sahara – Morocco defends before the UN its autonomy plan for the Sahara as «the only solution».

The head of the Moroccan government, Aziz Ajanuch, defended Tuesday before the UN General Assembly the Moroccan autonomy proposal for the Sahara, which he described as "a realistic and fair solution to the problem", claiming once again the Moroccan ownership of the former Spanish colony.


Morocco's Prime Minister Aziz Ajanuch, leader of the 
National Rally of Independents (RNI) 
- CHADI / XINHUA NEWS / CONTACTOPHOTO

In his speech, he reiterated Morocco's commitment to a "definitive political solution" to what he called an "artificial regional conflict" over the Sahara, but made it clear that this solution must be based on "the Moroccan autonomy initiative, the only solution to this dispute", and be framed within "the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the kingdom".

According to the Moroccan Prime Minister, this "serious and realistic" initiative presented by Morocco in 2007 already enjoys the support of more than 90 countries. About thirty countries, mainly African, have in recent years opened consulates in the former Spanish colony after recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over these territories.

Moreover, he maintained that "the Southern Provinces", as the Sahara is called in Morocco, "live at the pace of an irreversible development dynamic, within the framework of the new development model" launched by King Mohammed VI in 2015 and its population participates in it through its democratically elected representatives in the councils of the two regions into which this territory is divided.

MESSAGE TO ALGERIA 

In another development, according to le360.ma portal, Ajanuch said Morocco supports the efforts of the UN envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to relaunch the process of round tables with the participation of Morocco, the Polisario Front, Mauritania and Algeria with a view to reaching a realistic and lasting political solution in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council.

"The participation of Algeria, with seriousness and good faith, in the process of round tables (...) is a sine qua non to achieve a definitive settlement to this question", the Moroccan Prime Minister stressed, after accusing Algiers of being responsible for "the creation and maintenance of this artificial dispute".

On another matter, the Moroccan Prime Minister stressed his country's "firm" position in support of the Palestinian cause and a "two-state solution", although, nevertheless, he stressed that he will continue to defend "the special status of Jerusalem".

Nevertheless, Ajanuch maintained that "the world is now witnessing profound and multidimensional crises and challenges, and the African continent is the most affected by the difficult global economic conditions, which undermine its efforts in the field of sustainable development".

In addition, he called for strengthening international cooperation to launch "major initiatives" for development that will enable Africa to "withstand many international shocks," pointing specifically to climate change.

DIPLOMATIC EFFORT 

Morocco has recently been engaged in a major diplomatic effort to attract more countries to support its thesis of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. After then U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Rabat's sovereignty over the former Spanish colony in December 2020, the Moroccan government has worked and lobbied for other countries to follow in its footsteps.

In the case of Spain, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, recognized last March in a letter to Mohamed VI that the Moroccan autonomy plan is "the most serious, solid and credible basis" for a solution, while other countries such as France and Germany have recognized that it could be one of the bases for resolving the conflict.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Naser Burita, is also in New York these days, where he is having a busy schedule of meetings with his counterparts from several countries with the aim of continuing to promote Morocco's theses.

On Tuesday, the head of Moroccan diplomacy held a total of eleven bilateral meetings, nine of them with ministers of European countries - Luxembourg, Finland, Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Portugal. A meeting with the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, is scheduled for Wednesday.

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