Japan stresses seriousness and credibility of Morocco's Western Sahara initiative
Japan has positively assessed Morocco's proposal for Western Sahara, which it considers to be a serious and credible way of resolving the Saharawi territorial conflict, which has been going on for more than four decades since the departure of Spain, which put an end to the colonial period.
In this sense, the Japanese country has once again expressed its satisfaction with the serious and credible efforts of the Moroccan kingdom to make progress in the dialogue on Western Sahara, respecting the resolutions of the United Nations (UN).
This idea was expressed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting between the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hayashi Yoshimasa, and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ministerial conclave of the Council of the League of Arab States, as reported by the official Moroccan news agency MAP. According to the Moroccan agency, the Japanese Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa underlined the serious and credible efforts of Morocco to make progress in the political dialogue on the question of Western Sahara.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also publicly renewed its support for the UN-led political process and the negotiating efforts promoted by the UN.
The North African country proposes a broad autonomy plan for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, with a strong capacity for Sahrawi self-rule and the aim of developing the region politically, economically, socially and administratively to the maximum. In this project, the Moroccan state reserves to itself powers relating to defence and foreign policy. The Moroccan initiative would also respect UN resolutions.
In this case, the talks being held by Staffan de Mistura, the UN Secretary General's personal envoy for Western Sahara, who has promoted several talks between important parties involved in the issue due to their proximity to the area, such as Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, and also the so-called "Group of Friends", which includes Spain, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France, are noteworthy.
On the opposite side to the Moroccan side is the Polisario Front, an organisation supported by Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in the Maghreb, which went so far as to break diplomatic relations with the Moroccan kingdom in August 2021 after making accusations of alleged "hostile acts" against Algeria. The Polisario organisation is proposing a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people, which has less international backing and is difficult to implement due to various drawbacks such as the electoral roll, as several experts have pointed out.
Many countries have supported the Moroccan initiative for Western Sahara as the "most serious, credible and realistic" way to end the problem and find a lasting and realistic political solution to the territorial dispute. Nations as important as the United States, Israel (in the wake of the Abraham Accords), Germany, the United Arab Emirates and even Spain have shown their support for the Moroccan initiative to resolve the Sahrawi dispute.
Excellent relations
Beyond the question of Western Sahara, Japan also recalled the "excellent relations" between the Moroccan and Japanese nations and "the strong ties of friendship between the Japanese imperial family and the Moroccan royal family". Hayashi Yoshimasa also stressed Japan's intention to strengthen political, economic and trade relations between the two countries.
For his part, Nasser Bourita highlighted the positive mutual relations between the two nations and stressed Morocco's willingness to increase mutual cooperation in various areas, according to media outlets such as Morocco World News.
