Moroccan FM Bourita Receives MINURSO Chief in Rabat

Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita met today with Alexander Ivanko, the newly appointed Special Representative for Western Sahara and head of MINURSO, the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the disputed region.

The meeting served as an opportunity for Morocco to renew its commitment to the UN-led political process to find an agreed upon and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahara conflict.

The country has repeatedly emphasized the viability of its Autonomy Plan as a credible and serious step towards finding a lasting solution to the conflict over Western Sahara.

Rabat submitted its autonomy initiative to the UN in 2007, and the plan suggests making the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco a semi-autonomous territory under Moroccan sovereignty.

The initiative also seeks to allow the region’s population to manage their social, economic, and political affairs while Morocco handles defence and diplomatic affairs.

The autonomy plan has received supportive nods from many countries, and the diplomatic consensus in recent years has been that the Moroccan initiative is the most viable way to reach a feasible political solution to the decades-long regional dispute.

Bourita’s meeting with Ivanko comes nearly a month after the UN announced the appointment of the veteran Russian diplomat to succeed Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart at the helm of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara.

Ivanko is familiar with the intricacies of the Sahara conflict, having served as chief of staff of MINURSO since 2009.

He also  served as Director of Public Information for the UN Mission in Kosovo from 2006-2009 and as the UNSpokesperson in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1994-1998. 

“Ivanko  brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in international affairs, peacekeeping and journalism,” the UN said after the appointment of the Russian diplomat on August 27.

The new MINURSO chief holds a master’s degree with honors in Journalism from the Moscow State University and is fluent in Russian and English.