Recognition by Donald Trump of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Thursday that "he has signed a proclamation recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara". 

"Morocco's serious, credible and realistic proposal for autonomy is the only basis for a fair and lasting solution", the US president said in a call with King Mohamed VI. These statements are in line with the proposals that have been put forward and disseminated as a possibility of reaching an agreement that satisfies both parties to the conflict, whose main players are the dissidents represented by the Polisario Front and the Moroccan government, which has been offering this solution for over a decade and which we believe is the one most suited to the interests of the Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps.

The Canary Islands Saharan Forum, which has always advocated, as stated in its founding statutes, the reunification of the families of the Saharan people who are divided in Western Sahara and those who suffer from exile in the Tindouf camps, and their return to their home territory under a broad autonomy granted by the Moroccan government, is in line with this idea. The aim is also to achieve the desired economic and social development of this population, which is living amidst the turbulence of war threats by Polisario and at the mercy of international aid to survive.

Morocco and the United States have strong ties of friendship. We should not forget that it was a pioneer in recognising independence from the USA in 1777, maintaining excellent relations at all levels. In this framework, it has also resolved to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, joining four other Arab countries that already have them. Furthermore, the United States has undertaken to set up a new consulate in the city of Dakhla, an action that is included in Morocco's major diplomatic deployment to attract consulates to the Sahara. Of the countries that have already set up consulates, nine are in Laayoune, the administrative capital of the Sahara, and seven in Dakhla.

However, King Mohammed VI stated that the measures for rapprochement with Israel will not affect "Morocco's permanent and sustained commitment to the Palestinian cause".

Pending what will happen from now on with this decision, once the Biden administration takes power, the US president's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara has been of the utmost importance for it to be taken into account by the UN and the international community, so that they can once again call for a summit meeting, a cessation of threats and hostilities from Polisario, and a solution to this situation, considered the most effective, realistic and possible, through dialogue by the parties to the conflict. Especially in view of the UN Security Council resolutions on this issue in recent years.