The opening session of this two-day session was attended by the minister of the Interior Mr. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of Equipment and Transport Mr. Karim Ghellab, along with secretaries of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Ahmed Lakhrif and Mrs. Latifa Akharbach.
In addition to the latest developments relating to the national cause, this session will be devoted to the consideration of several issues relevant to the development process in the southern provinces, including the promotion of the transport sector, as well as the great achievements that have emerged and projects planned in these provinces.
Participants will also examine appropriate means to fulfill people’s aspirations in the region by implementing the High Directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in order to further improve the living standards of the southern provinces people and assure them local sustainable and integrated development.
At the opening meeting, CORCAS Chairman, Mr. Khalihenna Ould Errachid, stressed that the session, being held for the second time in the region, after the extraordinary session held in Laayoune on 29 June, on the orders of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to discuss the results of the first round negotiations in Manhasset, will be devoted to consideration of several issues, including autonomy as a final solution to achieve reconciliation and restoration of dignity, air transport and road networks in the southern provinces.
He said that autonomy process was launched on the occasion of the historic visit by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in Laayoune particularly after the speech of March 25, 2006 announcing the creation of CORCAS.
Mr. Ould Errachid also mentioned the steps already taken by the autonomy proposal and the favorable greeting it received around the world, before being submitted to the UN Secretary-General, on April 11, 2007.
The CORCAS chairman said that the Security Council, in its historic resolution 1754, welcomed the seriousness, credibility and importance of the Moroccan proposal, stating that the resolution has laid the groundwork for a new approach to resolving the Sahara conflict. It consists of rejecting all unrealistic approaches and previously prepared sterile plans and emphasizes the commitment to negotiations on the basis of goodwill as a unique opportunity for the resolution of this conflict that has lasted too long.
"We believe that Resolution 1754 is indeed a new beginning to encourage the settlement, without further delay, of the issue of the Moroccan Sahara as long as the other parties show goodwill," he said.
He also mentioned the holding of the first and second rounds of negotiations on the Sahara in Manhasset which opened the beginning of a new step in the treatment of this issue following a civilized method which can lead to a final solution suiting everyone.
These negotiations, he added, have destabilized "Polisario" and those who support it in the sense that they have formed a break with past procedures and initiated a new process by the adoption of resolution 1754, which calls and insists on holding direct negotiations leading to a final consensual solution, accepted by all parties.
Source: MAP
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