Western Sahara: US Welcomes De Mistura’s First Regional Visit

Rabat - The US has welcomed UNSG personal envoy for Western Sahara first regional visit, which kicked off earlier this week with a high-profile meeting in Morocco.

De Mistura arrived in Morocco on Wednesday. A Moroccan delegation, including Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and Permanent Ambassador to UN Omar Hilale welcomed and hosted de Mistura for wide-ranging discussions on the Sahara dossier on Thursday.

The State Department said the US welcomes the first regional visit of de Mistura.

“We support his efforts in restarting a credible political process leading to an enduring and mutually acceptable political solution to the Western Sahara conflict,” the State Department said in a tweet.

During their talks with the newly appointed UN envoy for Western Sahara, the Moroccan delegation renewed the country’s commitment to the UN-led political process.

The talks also served as an opportunity for the Moroccan delegation to emphasize that Morocco’s sovereignty over the region is non-negotiable.

The Moroccan delegation stressed the fundamentals of Morocco’s position on the Sahara conflict, citing King Mohammed VI’s speeches on the 45th and 46th anniversaries of the Green March.

In both speeches, the monarch emphasized Morocco’s attachment to its southern provinces and recalled the credibility and effectiveness of the Autonomy Plan as the basis to end the conflict over Western Sahara.

De Mistura’s regional visit is ongoing. He recently arrived in the Tindouf camps, where he will meet with Polisario representatives, before moving to Algiers for talks with the Algerian government.

He will then travel to Mauritania, the final stop of his first regional visit as the UNSG’s personal envoy for Western Sahara.

The UN appointed de Mistura in August as Western Sahara envoy. He replaced former German president Horst Kohler who resigned from this position in 2019 due to health issues. 

As Kohler was able to inspire a “new momentum” by convening the conflicting parties to two roundtable discussions in Geneva, his resignation caused consternation both among observers and diplomats of the parties to the conflict. 

It remains to be seen whether de Mistura will be able to convince the parties to the conflict to commit to a new round of talks amid rising tensions, including the severance of ties and the simmering hostility between Algeria and Morocco.

Source: Morocco World News by 

Safaa Kasraoui