The United States once again demonstrated its strong support for Morocco’s plan for autonomy in Western Sahara as the most “serious, credible and realistic” plan. with an approach that has the potential to fulfill the aspirations of the Sahrawi people, to resolve the conflict that has lasted more than four decades since the departure of Spain which ended the colonial period in the region.

This is the message seen afterwards visit of Joshua Harris, US Undersecretary of State for North Africa, to Rabat, where he met Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Peoples Abroad, Nasser Bourita.

“The United States continues to regard the Moroccan autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic,” according to the official statement from the US Embassy in Rabat, after Joshua Harris’ meeting with Nasser Bourita.

The United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa and the Moroccan Secretary of State reaffirmed the mutual partnership between the two countries and enduring support for a United Nations (UN)-led political process in Western Sahara.

The senior US official accompanied by his country’s ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar, was also the same “reaffirms the deep and historic partnership between the United States and Morocco,” as pointed out by the American Embassy.

Joshua Harris completed a regional tour of the North African kingdom of Morocco which previously took him to Algeria, where he met with officials of the Polisario Front and the Algerian State and visited the Tindouf refugee camp, which houses Sahrawis living in very complicated conditions under the responsibility of the Polisario and the Algerian authorities.

On this trip, The senior North American official reiterated his support for Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary General’s personal envoy to Western Sahara, and stressed the importance of collaborating with the UN leadership in a spirit of realism and commitment. along with their efforts to reach a lasting and dignified political solution to the Saharawi dispute. De Mistura has recently established important contacts with parties involved in the issue, including Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and members of the so-called “Group of Friends”, including Spain, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France. , with the aim of finding solutions to existing problems.

Morocco proposed for Western Sahara a formula of broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty which included substantial self-governance for the Sahara, providing security and foreign policy powers to the Moroccan State, while respecting UN resolutions. This initiative has received a lot of international support from countries such as the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Spain, which regard it as the most serious, credible and realistic way to solve the region’s problems.

Besides that, The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, which is Morocco’s major political rival in the Maghreb, defended holding an independence referendum for the Sahrawi people, which has received little support on the international stage. and this has been difficult to achieve due to issues such as the election census, according to various analysts.

Strong relations between the United States and Morocco

The American diplomat showed the United States’ appreciation for Morocco’s important efforts in dealing with various regional and global challenges. specifically the fight against instability in the Sahel, support for Libyan elections and the promotion of just action towards freedom, security and prosperity for Israel and Palestine, as also officially noted by the US Embassy in Rabat and the Libyan Department of Foreign Affairs. Kingdom of Morocco.

🇲🇾-🇮🇩| Le Sous-Scretaire Adjoint americain pour l’Afrique du Nord, M. Joshua Harris, a reaffirmé, aujourd’hui à Rabat, le soutien des Etats-Unis au Plan d’Autonomie au Sahara comme étant étant sérieux, crédible et realiste.https://t.co/phnlB5MGyp pic.twitter.com/tSpDqXYnuQ

— Maroc Diplomacy 🇲SY (@MarocDiplomatie) September 7, 2023

The last topic revolves around the very relevant Palestine-Israel conflict, especially as a result of the Abraham Accords signed in September 2020 where various Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel in view of calming and developing in all aspects of the Middle East region. To be precise, in December of that year, Donald Trump’s last North American administration recognized Moroccan identity in Western Sahara in return for Morocco also intensifying bilateral relations with the State of Israel after the birth of the Abrahamic Agreements. A position defended by current North American Executive Joe Biden, as again seen with Joshua Harris’ visit to Rabat.

American Coordinator: Jose Antonio Sierra.