Rabat – Germany reiterated on Thursday its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara, with the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock describing it as a “serious and credible” effort.
At the end of her meeting in Berlin with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, who is on a working visit to Germany, Baerbock reiterated her country’s “long-standing support for the UN-led process for a realistic, pragmatic, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.”
She described the Moroccan initiative as a “very good basis for a solution” that is accepted by the parties to the dispute, Morocco’s News Agency (MAP) reported.
Both ministers expressed support for the “exclusivity” of the UN political process to resolve the dispute, reaffirming support for the Security Council resolutions on the dispute.
The Security Council has long maintained the need for a realistic political solution based on compromise between the parties.
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The ministers also renewed their support for the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to the region, Staffan de Mistura, as well as his efforts to move the UN process forward.
Morocco’s autonomy plan, suggested by the country in 2007, would see the country’s southern provinces take control of their domestic legal and economic affairs, while leaving control of defense and foreign affairs to the Moroccan government.
The new comments from Germany’s top diplomat come nearly a year after she previously renewed her country’s support for Morocco’s initiative
In a joint declaration following a meeting with Bourita in August of 2022, Baerbock confirmed that Germany “considers the autonomy plan presented in 2007 as a serious and credible effort.”
