Spain Has Invested $4 Million in MINURSO Since Its Creation

Rabat – Spain has contributed over $4 million in financing the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara, MINURSO, since its creation in 1991.

Reporting on the news, Europa Press quoted comments the Spanish government made during a parliamentary session in response to a question about Spain’s contribution to MINUSRO.

“Spain contributes 2.1 percent of the mission’s budget, which represents a contribution to date of more than 4 million dollars,” Spain’s government response said, adding that MINURSO has not “counted on Spanish troops until now.”

The Spanish government recalled that it is part of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara within the UN along with the US, Russia, UK, and France.

MINURSO has been operating in the region since 1991 to maintain the ceasefire between Polisario and Morocco.

The UN Security Council renewed the mission’s mandate for one year in October 2021. The UN is set to meet at the end of October this year, the expiration date of the current mandate, to again discuss renewing the mission’s mandate.

Spain’s response regarding its contribution to MINURSO comes weeks after the country announced its new position on the Western Sahara dispute.

In March, Spain officially endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.

The announcement angered some Spanish political parties, with many criticizing the Pedro Sanchez-led government for “betraying” Spain’s long-running “positive neutrality” on the Sahara question.

But the most frustrated by the Spanish government’s new position were the separatist Polisario Front and its supporter Algeria.

The Algerian regime recalled its ambassador to Madrid in protest of the Spanish move and threatened to end its gas contract with Spain.

Previously, Algeria had been supplying Spain with gas via Morocco through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline.

After Algeria’s decision to freeze relations with Morocco in August 2021, however, the Algerian regime decided to terminate the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline’s contract in October of the same year.

Since then, the Algerian regime has been supplying Spain with gas through the Medgaz pipeline.

Following Spain’s change of its Western Sahara position in favor of Morocco’s stance, Algeria threatened the Spanish government by announcing it would “recalculate” the prices of its gas exports to the European country.

According to the most recent reports, Algeria has notably cut 25% of its gas supply to Spain.