Estados Unidos mantiene su apoyo a la propuesta marroquí sobre el Sáhara Occidental

Morocco continues to enjoy significant support from the United States for its formula for resolving the Western Sahara conflict, based on broad autonomy for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty. 

This is what emerged from the visit to Rabat of Wendy Sherman, US Assistant Secretary of State, who said that the Alawi kingdom's plan for the Sahrawi region is "serious, credible and realistic".

After visiting Spain and meeting with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, Wendy Sherman met with Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, and once again made clear the American giant's position of support for Morocco's proposal for the Sahara. 

The Moroccan plan has important international support, such as that of the United States, which dates back to the time of Donald Trump's administration, which backed the Kingdom at the end of 2020 in this regard in exchange for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the North African country and Israel, following in the wake of the past Abraham Accords, whereby the Israeli state established political ties with Arab nations such as the Emirates and Bahrain, under US auspices. Along the same lines, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and the United Kingdom have also shown their support for Morocco on the Saharawi issue. 

Sherman praised Morocco's role "in maintaining peace and security in the region" and its diplomatic recognition of Israel, which came with the normalisation of relations proposed by the United States. 

The number two of the US Secretary of State recognised Morocco's formula for the Sahara as a way "to satisfy the aspirations of the people of the region", according to an official statement by the State Department. Wendy Sherman also positively highlighted the work of the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, as the United States has been doing in recent months. For its part, Morocco's plan for Western Sahara is also based on political dialogue with its rival on this issue, the Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria, a major regional rival of the Alawite kingdom. Morocco defends this dialogue within the framework of UN postulates.

On the other side, the Polisario Front advocates a referendum on independence for the Saharawi population, an initiative that does not enjoy the same international support as Morocco, which is more widely recognised. 

Following Wendy Sherman's visit, Minister Nasser Bourita indicated that these political moves would continue to demonstrate that the US supports Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, as the official Moroccan news agency MAP pointed out, something that is of vital importance to the Alawite kingdom. 

Sherman's visit to Spain also had its relevance due to the importance of the Spanish nation on the Sahara issue. Morocco continues to lack greater Spanish support for its formula for resolving the Saharawi issue as it continues to rebuild diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were severely strained after Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali was received on Spanish soil last April to be treated for a respiratory ailment in a hospital in Logroño. 

Morocco considered that it had not been duly informed by Spain, a country considered a neighbour and ally, and from there came other episodes that made the situation tense, such as the entry of thousands of illegal immigrants through the Ceuta border or the withdrawal of the Moroccan ambassador to Spain. 

Spain has been showing signs of rapprochement with Morocco, such as those expressed in recent months by King Felipe VI and even the appointment as Foreign Minister of José Manuel Albares, who has a better political profile for rapprochement with the Maghreb and Morocco than the previous minister, Arancha González Laya, who was marked for the Kingdom by the reception of Brahim Ghali in Spain, especially taking into account the controversial figure of the Polisario leader, who was charged before the Audiencia Nacional for alleged crimes of genocide in the Tindouf refugee camps.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra