Sahara: Washington reaffirms Support to Morocco’s “serious, credible & realistic” Autonomy Plan
The Biden administration has reaffirmed the U.S. strong backing to the “serious, credible and realistic” autonomy plan offered by Morocco under its sovereignty for a lasting and peaceful resolution of the Sahara regional conflict.
The American supportive stand was voiced in a press release issued Tuesday in Washington DC following the meeting of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
The Moroccan plan meets the aspirations of the local Saharan people, said the State Department statement, underlining the U.S.-Morocco strong support for the new UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura in leading the U.N.-led political process for Sahara.
Secretary Blinken hailed on this occasion the longstanding bilateral partnership which is rooted in shared interests in regional peace, security, and prosperity.
The U.S. Secretary of State and the Moroccan Foreign minister discussed a range of regional issues, including the continued deepening of relations between Morocco and Israel.
They praised the upcoming first anniversary of the Joint Declaration among Morocco, Israel, and the United States on December 22.
The two countries top diplomats also discussed the newly formed Moroccan government’s efforts to advance King Mohammed VI’s reform agenda, the importance of promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms, and building on the productive September U.S.-Morocco dialogue on human rights.
In his twitter account, Mr. Blinken said he had a “valuable meeting” with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, noting that bilateral talks focused on strategic partnership, joint support for a renewed UN-led political process regarding Sahara and strong U.S. support for deepening Morocco-Israel relations.
The meeting between the two ministers comes ahead of the first visit Israeli Defense minister Benny Gantz is expected to pay to Morocco after the normalization of relations between the two countries within the frame of the U.S.-brokered Abraham accords.
