US Congress includes Sahara in USAID assistance program in Morocco

The US Congress has included the Sahara into its aid program to Morocco in a move that translates the US administration’s recognition of the North African country’s sovereignty over the land.

The decision means a victory for Morocco, comments local Al Massae daily, which notes that the decision was made possible thanks to the Democrats who endorsed the inclusion of the territory in the USAID program in the kingdom.

This decision runs counter to an initial bill tabled before the Senate that sought to exclude the Moroccan southern provinces from any USAID financial contribution.

The aid allocation and distribution will be defined by the US States Department and the aid agency.

The daily recalled that this decision is in line with the position adopted by the Democratic majority in the Congress in 2015, noting that the new bill, which is favorable to Morocco, disavows Algeria and the media in its pay.

The Algerian media had actually published triumphalist articles about the initial text excluding the Sahara from aid funds destined for Morocco in the 2019 appropriation bill, hastily presuming that the United States does not recognize the administrative authority of Morocco over the Sahara.