Post: The Moroccan monarch addresses the issue of Western Sahara with Guterres

Moroccan King Mohammed VI discussed the burning issue of Western Sahara with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Rabat on Wednesday, the Royal Court and the United Nations said.

Guterres, who visited the kingdom in the northeastern city of Fez to attend the “Ninth Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations”, met with King Mohammed VI at his palace in Rabat, the royal palace said in a statement.

He added that during the meeting, the Moroccan monarch “reaffirmed Morocco’s firm position to resolve this regional dispute based on the autonomy initiative within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom”.

For its part, the UN statement said: “The Secretary-General and His Majesty the King discussed the situation in the region, particularly in Western Sahara.”

In the statement, the international organization does not specify additional details.

Regarding Morocco’s declaration, he said that the discussion “referred to the question of the Moroccan Sahara in the context of Resolution 2654, which was approved by the UN Security Council on October 27”.

MINURSO mission

Resolution 2654 extended the work of the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara for another year and called for “renegotiations” of the conflict to reach a “durable and mutually acceptable” solution within the framework of “self-determination”. People of Western Sahara”.

The Security Council made the same invitation a year ago, when Italy’s new representative at the UN, Staffan de Mistura, took office, and since then the latter has made several trips to the region to meet with various actors.

Resolution 2654 also called for “full cooperation” with the United Nations Mission (MINURSO), whose mandate was extended by one year until October 31, 2023.

In its statement, the Royal Court said that the Moroccan monarch renewed “the Kingdom’s support for the efforts of the Secretary General and his Personal Representative, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to guide the political process and mission of MINURSO”. Ceasefire Surveillance”.

The fate of the desert region has been disputed for decades between Morocco and the Polisario Front, supported by neighboring Algeria.

Western Sahara is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, with an area of ​​266 thousand square kilometers, rich in phosphates, and its coast, which extends for a thousand kilometers, is rich in fish.

The UN considers the former Spanish colony a “non-autonomous territory” in the absence of a final agreement.

Although Rabat, which controls almost 80 percent of the region, proposes to grant it autonomy under its sovereignty, the Polisario Front demands a self-determination referendum under the auspices of the United Nations, stipulated in the 1991 ceasefire agreement, but has arrived.

Source: EuroNews

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