Spain reiterates steady position in support of UN efforts on Sahara

Spanish Foreign Minister reiterated Friday her country’s steady position in support of the UN process in the Sahara, which aims at reaching a political and mutually acceptable solution to the over-four decade dispute.

The Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, who was on a working visit to Morocco, her first trip abroad, outside the European Union, since her appointment to the position mid-January, said Spain’s position is steady because it is a “state position” that transcends political differences.

Spain supports the UN Secretary General and his Sahara Envoy in their efforts to reach a political, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahara conflict, she said.

The Spanish official, following the example of the Spanish PM, refrained from citing the referendum option, which proved its unfeasibility.

She said Spain supports a solution in line with Security Council resolutions, which called on the parties to show compromise towards a realistic solution without referring to the referendum option.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stressed in his speech last September before the UN General Assembly that the UN process is the only way to reach a political, fair and lasting solution to the Sahara issue.

Spain is Morocco’s first trading partner and Morocco is Spain’s second largest trading partner after the US outside the EU.

The two countries cooperate closely in the fight against terrorism and management of migratory flows.