Rabat – Kuwait reaffirmed on Monday its support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, joining the growing list of gulf countries supporting Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Speaking before the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly, Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, Kuwait’s UN ambassador, reiterated his country’s support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative.
He called Morocco’s UN-backed autonomy plan “a constructive choice” to reach a final solution to the conflict around the Western Sahara, and spoke of respecting the territorial unity and sovereignty of the North African Kingdom as a priority.
Al-Otaibi expressed Kuwait’s support for Security Council Resolution 2468, which emphasizes the need to move towards a “realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and compromise political solution” to the Sahara issue.
He added that Kuwait supports the efforts of the United Nations, which have led to the organization of the two roundtables in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Ambassador Al-Otaibi also welcomed the appointment of the new Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.
The Kuwaiti diplomat highlighted the need to save the legacy of the momentum and progress achieved during the previous roundtables, urging De Mistura to “start where his predecessor left off.”
During talks at the ongoing UN General Assembly’s 4th Committee, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and many African countries repeatedly declared their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and its Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara.
Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani, Qatar’s UN ambassador, told the Committee on October 20 that any solution to the Sahara conflict should “ensure the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over its territory.”
Saudi Arabia took the same position a day prior, while its Ambassador to Rabat also told local press this week “the security and stability of Morocco is part of the security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Abdallah Al Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia’s UN ambassador, said that “Saudi Arabia rejects any attack against the supreme interests or on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco.”
