U.S. Congress includes again Sahara in assistance program to Morocco; reaffirms pre-eminence of Autonomy Plan

The U.S. Congress has included again 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 whole of its territory.

The report accompanying the U.S. spending bill, signed into law Tuesday by President Joe Biden, after it was passed last week by Congress, renews U.S. assistance to the Moroccan Sahara.

The report accompanying this law also reaffirms, in a clear manner, the constancy of Washington’s position in support of the process conducted under the auspices of the United Nations for a compromise political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara.

The document notes, in this connection, the importance of complying with the parameters of the Security Council resolutions that enshrine the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a credible, serious and realistic solution to this conflict.

This same position has been reaffirmed in the joint statement issued at the end of the Morocco-US Strategic Dialogue, held in Rabat on March 8, 2022, under the co-chairmanship of Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman.

This year’s legislation was again a resounding failure for the Kingdom’s opponents, who tried in vain to introduce amendments trying to set a distinction between Morocco and its Sahara or to call into question the U.S. consulate in Dakhla. None of these ill-intentioned attempts were successful.

The new U.S. spending bill thus reaffirms the U.S. recognition of Morocco’s full sovereignty over all of its territory, including its Southern Provinces.