These concrete proposals are aimed at exploring the real situation of the region's natural resources, the representation of the Saharan provinces' population, and Algeria's more constructive contribution, the Minister said at a press briefing following the three-day meeting.
"The Moroccan delegation submitted a number of concrete initiatives and proposals to give more chance to negotiations, step up their pace and promote their pertinence and perspicacity," Fassi Fihri added.
He stressed the need to make the tours of the UNSG's Personal Envoy for the Sahara not a simple matter of preparing for the rounds of talks, but a chance to "listen to those, in the region, who can contribute to facilitating the process" in order to reach a solution that will serve the interests of the Arab Maghreb.
In this regard, the Minister expressed Morocco's strong will to reach a final solution to the Sahara issue on the basis of realism and the Moroccan autonomy initiative, which is commended by the international community.
The autonomy plan, he said, represents a real opportunity for the peoples of the region.
The Minister recalled that the previous Personal Envoy, Peter Van Walsum, has come, following four rounds of negotiations, to the crucial conclusion that the independence is an unrealistic and unworkable option.
“We do not want to go backward or start from zero, because Morocco has made significant efforts, through this initiative, to show its serious aspect against the so-called new proposal submitted by the other parties which offers no chance to make headway,” he underlined.
The region needs a final solution to this artificial regional dispute with the other parties, especially Algeria, the main political and diplomatic supporter of the polisario, he added.
Morocco will spare no effort to give a new chance to negotiations, knowing that there are “red lines” namely the legitimacy of the Moroccan presence in the southern provinces and the Kingdom’s territorial unity and integrity, he recalled.
In this regard, the Kingdom is available to give a new chance to the process in order to make progress through these innovative approaches, giving as an example the assessment of the actual state of the natural resources of the region in order to clarify the situation and refute the polisario’s false claims on the exploitation by Morocco of these resources.
Another example, given by the Minister, is the representation of the Sahrawi population, knowing that the polisario does not represent the whole of this population and can only claim, ultimately, the representation of our Moroccan brothers, held captive in the Tindouf camps, Algeria.
He also highlighted the possibility for the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General to not be limited to rounds of negotiation and be attentive to those in the region, who can contribute to this process.
Finally, the Minister wondered about how to boost the contribution of neighboring countries, namely Algeria and Mauritania, to find a final solution in the interest of the Arab Maghreb.
He also said that the Moroccan delegation presented during these talks compelling evidence to refute the propaganda launched following the dismantling of Gdeim Izik camp, near Laayoune.
“We rebutted the polisario’s whole arguments, one by one, showing once again that the intervention was peaceful,” he said, adding that the United Nations and the international community were fully aware of the details of these incidents.
Source: MAP
News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas