Nicolas de Rivière welcomed Morocco’s efforts in favor of socio-economic development in the southern provinces, emphasizing the “imperative” to continue this dynamic.
International community: Morocco continues to score points internationally regarding the Sahara issue. The support of France after that of the United States represents a real breaking point in the issue. Lighting.
Before the United Nations Security Council in New York, France reaffirmed, Thursday, that “the present and the future” of the Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, reiterating its “clear and constant” support for autonomy plan to definitively resolve this regional dispute. “Our position is known. For France, the present and future of the Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” declared the ambassador, permanent representative of France to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière, after the vote by the Council of resolution 2756 extending the mandate of Minurso for one year.
The ambassador added that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is “the framework within which this issue must be resolved, and our support for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007 is clear and constant.” “For France, this constitutes the only basis for achieving a just, lasting and negotiated political solution, in accordance with the resolutions of this Council,” continued Mr. de Rivière, noting that an “increasingly international consensus broad emerges in this sense. For the French ambassador, “it was important for the Council to take note of this dynamic as it now does in this resolution.”
In his explanation of the vote in support of the new resolution, the French diplomat made a point of welcoming Morocco’s efforts in favor of socio-economic development in the southern provinces, emphasizing the “imperative” to continue this dynamic. “We welcome all the efforts invested by Morocco in this regard. France will support him in this process for the benefit of local populations,” he said.
According to the French ambassador, “it is time to move forward”, calling on all parties concerned by this issue to “come together” with a view to a political solution “which is within reach”. The diplomat expressed, in this regard, his country’s support for the efforts of the UN Personal Envoy with a view to “relaunching discussions in the round table format”, welcoming “Morocco’s commitment in this meaning. It should be noted that France intends to increase its consular and cultural presence in the Moroccan Sahara, with a view to creating a French alliance.
The announcement was made by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.
“We are going to increase our consular and cultural presence there, with a view to creating a French alliance,” indicated Mr. Barrot, during a press briefing following his talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, of African cooperation and Moroccans living abroad, Nasser Bourita.
Partnership
The head of French diplomacy reiterated, on this occasion, his country’s desire to develop the Moroccan-French partnership throughout the territory of the Kingdom, including in the Moroccan Sahara, recalling the words of Mr. Macron who reiterated in a speech, delivered Tuesday during a joint session of the two Chambers of Parliament, that the present and future of the Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. “We have matched our words with deeds and I am pleased to announce that the map of Morocco has been updated and put online on the website of the (French) Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs,” he said. Mr. Barrot is delighted. Likewise, the United States reaffirmed at the UN Security Council its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan, qualifying it as a “serious, credible and realistic” solution to definitively close the regional dispute around the Moroccan Sahara. “As Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently reaffirmed, the United States continues to consider the Moroccan autonomy proposal as serious, credible and realistic with a view to a political solution” to this regional dispute, underlined the Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Robert Wood.
In an intervention following the vote by the members of the Council on resolution 2756 extending the mandate of Minurso until October 31, 2025, the American diplomat, whose country is the penholder of the resolution on the Sahara, underlined “the urgency of reaching a political solution” to this conflict, while insisting on the need to take advantage of the ongoing “dynamics”. Explaining his country’s vote in favor of the new resolution, Mr. Wood highlighted the Security Council’s support for the United Nations’ efforts to advance the political process towards a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution. to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
Many other countries around the world also support the Moroccan position. In this sense, Sierra Leone reaffirmed, before the members of the Security Council, its support for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, qualifying it as a “credible and realistic” solution to put an end to the regional dispute around the Sahara. This position was expressed by the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the UN, Michael Imran Kanu, following the vote by the Council on resolution 2756 extending the mandate of Minurso for one year. The diplomat also highlighted the international dynamic of support for the autonomy plan presented by Morocco in 2007.
While expressing his country’s support for the political dynamic carried out under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General and facilitated by his Personal Envoy for the Moroccan Sahara, the Sierra Leonean ambassador stressed the need to resume the process of the tables rounds with the “full participation of all parties concerned”.
In this sense, he called on all parties to commit in good faith with a view to reaching a realistic, pragmatic and mutually acceptable political solution based on compromise. Mr. Imran Kanu also welcomed Morocco’s continued cooperation with Minurso.
