Western Sahara: Belgium reaffirms support for Moroccan plan

Moroccan diplomacy has seemingly flourished further as Belgium becomes the latest country to reaffirm support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on March 2nd.

This positive stance was expressed by Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, following a March 2nd meeting in Rabat with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.

Belgium’s Ambassador in Rabat will soon be invited to visit the Western Sahara to prepare for and support economic initiatives, including visits by Belgian companies.

Through its support, Belgium joins the majority of EU nations and more than two-thirds of UN Security Council members in backing Moroccan sovereignty.

On October 23rd, 2025, Belgium officially joined 130 nations in supporting Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, as part of a plan to end a territorial dispute that has persisted since Spain’s colonial rule ended in 1975.

Resolution 2797, or the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, received widespread support at a UN Security Council vote on October 30th, 2025; the proposal would grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

Despite international support for Moroccan sovereignty, the Algerian-backed Polisario Front has repeatedly rejected the plan and continues to insist on an independence referendum.

The Polisario Front is a separatist militia that claims to fight for self-determination on behalf of the Sahrawi people, whose ancestral homeland is the Western Sahara.

Algeria’s seemingly unwavering support for the Polisario Front has led to its increasing diplomatic isolation, with some countries severing ties over the ongoing alliance.

Furthermore, Algeria is accused of downplaying its role in the Western Sahara dispute by suggesting that the Polisario Front was responsible for direct negotiations with Morocco, while Algeria and Mauritania had an “observer role.”

In February, it was reported that Morocco had joined an EU aid mechanism to monitor aid entering the Polisario-run Tindouf refugee camps in southern Algeria.

Concerns have been raised about alleged Polisario ties to Hezbollah, the latter of which reportedly had a delegation visit the Tindouf camps in November 2025; both organisations receive funding from Iran.

Humanitarian conditions in the refugee camps are dire, with the Algerian military being accused of perpetrating extrajudicial killings of civilians.

Since 1976, the Polisario Front has recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and provided ongoing military and financial aid.

However, the EU reaffirmed its longstanding non-recognition of the SADR in May 2025, which could be perceived as a rejection of the separatist group’s legitimacy as representatives of the Sahrawi people.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org