Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, reaffirmed Thursday in New York Morocco's commitment to the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, including respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of States, as fundamental rules of international law and foreign policy of member countries.

Speaking at the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, held on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, Bourita called for increasing the movement's actions and enhancing coordination in order to address global and cross-border threats, including terrorism, cyber-criminality, illegal immigration, human trafficking and organized crime, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis. The minister welcomed, in this regard, the choice of the meeting's theme "Respect for the principles of sovereignty and relations of friendship and cooperation between States" as a subject of debate, given its importance in international relations as a fundamental element for strengthening international cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The choice of this theme is also an opportunity to reaffirm the movement's commitment to its unchanging principles, including respect for the territorial integrity of States, their national unity and sovereignty, the rejection of interference in their internal affairs and the ban of the threat of the use of force, he pointed out. Bourita stressed in this regard that, in accordance with the spirit and the provisions of the United Nations Charter and the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement that insist on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States, the Kingdom is engaged in the exclusive efforts of the United Nations, with a view to reaching a negotiated, consensual and realistic political solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. Given its commitment to the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, the Kingdom has proposed the autonomy initiative for the Moroccan Sahara region in order to ensure peace in the region, he added. This initiative "is the only and ultimate solution to this artificial dispute, the issue of the Moroccan Sahara being above all an issue of completing the territorial integrity of Morocco", he pointed out, underlining that the sovereignty of the Kingdom over its southern provinces is non-negotiable. In this regard, the minister welcomed the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to relaunch the political process on the basis of the parameters set by the Security Council since 2007 to reach a realistic, pragmatic and sustainable solution on the basis of compromise. Bourita noted that these efforts led to two round tables that were attended by all the concerned parties without exception, adding that the Security Council, in its resolution 2468 of 30 April 2019, stressed the importance of support to the efforts of the Secretary-General to move forward in the political process in the same format as the two round tables held. He also welcomed the commitment of all parties to continue their participation in this process in a spirit of realism and compromise to ensure its success. Bourita reiterated Morocco's strong condemnation of the terrorist attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, reaffirming the Kingdom's full support for the measures taken by Saudi Arabia to defend its security and its stability. Regarding developments of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bourita said that the lack of prospects for reviving the peace process has become a cause for concern for the Kingdom of Morocco and a new source of instability and tension in the Middle East. He pointed out, in this sense, that Morocco, whose Sovereign HM King Mohammed VI chairs the Al Quds Committee, remains convinced that there cannot be a just and lasting peace in the absence of the respect of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state with Al-Quds as its capital.