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Rabat – Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid has expressed hope to see the engagement of political parties’ youth wings in defending Morocco’s position on Western Sahara.
In a recent meeting with youth wings representatives, the minister shared and exchanged ideas and initiatives on how to demonstrate the strong presence of Moroccan youth in international political forums.
The minister said he counts on youth and their rhetoric to “fiercely defend” the national cause.
He added that he is ready to support any initiatives that serve the “Sahara dossier” and other contributions that seek to boost Morocco’s diplomatic actions.
The Youth, Culture, Communication and the Foreign Affairs Ministries will coordinate to “make efforts” in service of paradiplomacy in partnership with political parties and their youth wings to discuss the Sahara conflict and other nations’ issues files, Bensaid added in the meeting.
Morocco considers the country’s sovereignty over Western Sahara as “non-negotiable” in the face of Algerian-backed separatist claims from the Polisario Front.
In November 2021, King Mohammed VI commended the “tangible developments” Morocco made in the defense of the country’s pre-colonial southern borders.
“I wish to express my appreciation for the tangible and growing support our just cause has received,” King Mohammed VI stated, thanking, in particular, the United States for its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the region
Morocco is contributing to the UN-led political process to reach a peaceful and agreed upon solution to the artificial regional dispute on the basis of its 2007 Autonomy Plan.
The Moroccan autonomy initiative suggests making the Sahara region a semi-autonomous territory under Moroccan sovereignty. The plan aims to allow locals in the region to manage their social, political, economic affairs, while Morocco handles defense and diplomacy.
Morocco submitted the plan to the UN Security Council in 2007. Since then, a growing swath of the international community has declared the Autonomy Plan as a serious and credible initiative to end the conflict over Western Sahara.
