British MPs in Morocco Seek Understanding of Sahara Dispute

Rabat – Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita received Tuesday in Rabat a delegation of British Conservative MPs from the House of Lords who expressed an interest in visiting the southern Moroccan city of Laayoune to gain a “better understanding” of the situation in Western Sahara.

Following the meeting, MP Lord Stuart Polak told the press that the delegation would travel to Morocco’s southern provinces to gain a greater understanding of the Sahara dispute.

Lord Polak praised the good ties between London and Rabat and said that the purpose of the British parliamentary delegation’s trip to Morocco was to learn from that North African country and promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and British MP Lord Stuart Polak

The British delegation, which included Lords Stuart Polak, James Arbuthnot, Alastair Colin, Leckie Campbell, and Eric Pickles, also met with the President of the House of Councillors, Enaam Mayara, to discuss ways to strengthen and consolidate relations between the House of Councillors and the British House of Lords.

The British MPs also welcomed the proposal of the Forum for Anglo-Moroccan parliamentary dialogue, stressing that the UK and Morocco share the same challenges and concerns.

In February 2023, Bourita and Lord Tariq Ahmad reviewed the positive developments in bilateral relations between the UK and Morocco with the aim of further developing the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Total trade between the UK and Morocco, including exports and imports, totaled $3.6 billion between the end of the third quarter of 2021 and the same period in 2022, marking a 53.3% rise in the volume of trade between the two nations.

The data reflects the UK and Morocco’s determination to expand cooperation in all areas, including trade.

Support for Morocco’s autonomy plan

The UK is one of a growing number of countries that see Morocco’s autonomy initiative as the most viable route to a sustainable and politically negotiated solution to the decades-long dispute over Western Sahara.

On April 18, 2023, British MPs in London at the British Parliament welcomed the Moroccan autonomy initiative, stressing King Mohammed VI’s vision for the development of Morocco’s southern provinces.

In 2018, the UK’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Boris Johnson, deemed Morocco’s approach to the Western Sahara conflict “serious and credible,” joining a list of countries that have applauded Morocco’s autonomy proposal, such as the US, Sierra Leone, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, among other countries.

In 2021, the UK reiterated its support for the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2602, welcoming Morocco’s “serious” and “credible” efforts to resolve the dispute over the Western Sahara region.