Western Sahara: Senegal reaffirms support for Morocco

Senegal has reaffirmed its support of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, as reported by Atalayar and agencies on January 27th.

This supportive stance was expressed in the Joint Communiqué adopted on January 26th in Rabat, following the Morocco-Senegal High Joint Partnership Commission, co-chaired by Morocco’s Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch and Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

In reaffirming its support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory, Senegal joins 130 other nations which have backed the plan to grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

On October 31st, 2025, a UN Security Council vote demonstrated widespread support for Resolution 2797, or the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, with many hailing the proposal as a realistic and credible solution to a territorial dispute that has persisted since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

Senegal is not the only Sahel country to express support for the Autonomy Plan, as Burkina Faso reaffirmed its backing of Morocco following a Joint Cooperation Commission held in the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou in December.

Niger also confirmed its support of Moroccan sovereignty following a meeting in Rabat between Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Yaou Sangaré, and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, in November.

Also in November, Gambia’s Foreign Minister Sering Modou Njie hailed the Autonomy Plan as the “only solution” to the ongoing Western Sahara dispute between Morocco and Algeria.

Relations between Morocco and Sahel countries have developed in recent years due to policies such as the Moroccan King’s Atlantic Initiative, which would allow landlocked Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean via Morocco.

Similarly, the planned Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline, which would pass through Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal, would supply natural gas to landlocked countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Ties between Sahel countries and Morocco have developed despite many Sahel nations historically aligning with Algeria, another former French colony.

However, Algeria has rejected Morocco’s Autonomy Plan and continues to back the Polisario Front, a separatist militia that claims to fight for self-determination of the Sahrawi people, whose ancestral homeland is the Western Sahara territory.

Due to its seemingly unwavering support for the Polisario Front, Algeria has become increasingly isolated diplomatically, with the Polisario Front’s alleged ties to Iran leading to 46 countries suspending or severing ties.

Atalayar and agencies, Maghrebi.org