Western Sahara: Spain reaffirms support for Morocco

The Spanish government has reaffirmed its support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory, according to the Moroccan government-friendly North Africa Post and agencies on December 7th.

This supportive stance was confirmed in a statement issued following the 13th High-Level Moroccan-Spanish Meeting, which was held in Madrid.

The summit, which aimed to discuss developments in the Western Sahara and sign bilateral treaties, was attended by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez.

During the meeting, Sanchez reaffirmed his country’s support for Moroccan sovereignty, as expressed in a Joint Declaration with the Kingdom on April 7th, 2022.

Spain is one of 130 nations which have endorsed the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, also known as Resolution 2797, which would grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

On October 31st, the UN Security Council voted to endorse the proposal, which was described as the most “feasible solution” to the 50-year conflict over the region, which began when Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

Economic ties between the Kingdom and Spain have resulted in a trade volume exceeding € 22.7 billion, positioning the Kingdom as Spain’s third-largest non-EU trading partner.

However, Spain is not united in its support for Moroccan sovereignty, as the proposal has been rejected by the Popular Party (PP), an opposition party to the Spanish government.

The PP has also demanded restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Morocco, reportedly due to tax irregularities related to tomato exports that amounted to €70–77 million.

Similarly, the PP has faced criticism over its decision to invite a representative from the Algerian-backed Polisario Front to its national congress in July.

The Polisario Front is a separatist group which claims to be engaged in an armed struggle against what it perceives as Morocco’s illegal occupation of the Western Sahara, which is the ancestral homeland of the Sahrawi people.

The militant group, which receives funding from Iran, first recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976; however, the EU reaffirmed its long-standing non-recognition of the SADR in May.

Relations between Morocco’s regional rival, Algeria, and Spain have deteriorated over Spanish support for Moroccan sovereignty. In response to Spanish support for the Kingdom’s plan, Algeria suspended cooperation between Madrid and Algiers.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org