Sahara: Washington reaffirms support for Morocco’s serious, credible, realistic Autonomy Plan
The U.S. government has reiterated its unwavering support to the Autonomy plan offered by Morocco for the Sahara under its sovereignty, describing the plan as “serious, credible and realistic”.
The supportive stand was voiced Tuesday by U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller in a press release issued following the meeting held in Washington between Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Secretary affirmed full U.S. support for UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura and his efforts to advance negotiations leading to an enduring political solution for Sahara issue without further delay, said the statement of the U.S. State Department.
Mr. Blinken also expressed appreciation for King Mohammed VI’s crucial voice in advancing a more peaceful and secure Middle East region, lauding Morocco’s leadership in responding to humanitarian needs in Gaza, supporting stabilization in the West Bank, and contributing to the revitalization of the Palestinian Authority.
The U.S. also welcomed Morocco’s ongoing efforts to end the political stalemate in Libya and address instability in the Sahel.
In brief statements made before their meeting, Secretary Blinken said: “Morocco is an essential partner to the United States, and I greatly value the relationship between our countries”, longstanding friends and allies.
He also said that they are consulting on a lot – a variety of issues that we work on together, particularly stability both in the Middle East as well as in Africa and North Africa.
Mr. Bourita said: “we are meeting today as our two countries are celebrating the 20th anniversary of two milestones of our relationship: the FTA, the only one the USA has with an African country; and the African Lion military exercise, the largest military exercise the USA has in the continent”.
Morocco’s top diplomat also said: “We are partners for peace. And this partnership is vital today as we are witnessing escalations in the Middle East, problems in the Sahel, in Libya, and in Europe”.
On Monday, Mr. Bourita and Blinken took part in Washington in the ministerial meeting commemorating the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
In a joint communiqué, the global coalition stressed the importance of the Africa Focus Group in the fight against terrorism in Africa. The group, co-chaired by Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Italy, plays a central role in coordinating regional efforts to counter terrorist threats on the continent.
Moroccan-American strategic partnership and cooperation ties are gaining momentum. U.S. Marines and units from the Royal Moroccan Navy conducted lately an exercise at the 5th Naval Base in Ksar Sghir, Morocco.
The joint exercise included Tactical Casualty Combat Care (TCCC), patrolling, and amphibious landing activities, aimed at enhancing interoperability and increasing operational readiness of partnering forces.
