Guterres stressed, in this regard, that "Morocco ensures that these investments directly benefit the population of this region and are implemented in full consultation with them".

The scale of these investments and their impact on the population had been observed in person by the former Personal Envoy of the Secretary General, Horst Köhler, during his visit to the region in June-July 2018.

In last year's report, the Secretary-General pointed out that Köhler "visited several development projects financed by Morocco, including a conference center and a hospital, as well as a phosphate processing plant run by the the Office chérifien des phosphates in Laayoune".

Köhler was not alone in noting the progress of the projects of the new development model for the southern provinces. The Minurso also reported to the Security Council in the Secretary-General's report last April that Morocco had "continued to invest considerably in infrastructure and economic development".

These new statements by the UN confirm Morocco's policy of economic, social and cultural development in its southern provinces, which is particularly marked by the new development model of the southern provinces, worth $8 billion.

This UN confirmation clearly denies the other parties' false allegations about the natural resources of the Moroccan Sahara, which benefit exclusively local populations.