The House of Representatives voiced its support for Morocco's efforts to reach a lasting and consensual political solution to the Sahara issue, Mr. Arboleda said at a meeting with Morocco's Ambassador to Bogota, Mohamed Khattabi.

    The Sahara dispute broke out in 1976 by the claim of the Algerian-backed "Polisario" movement to separate the Moroccan southern provinces, known as the Sahara.

    A former Spanish colony, the Sahara was retrieved from Spanish rule by the North African Kingdom under the Madrid accords signed in 1975 between Morocco, Spain and Mauritania.

    Lauding the deep ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the Columbian MP stressed that “there were no official contacts between the Columbian Congress and the Polisario separatists.”

    In a bid to end this longstanding dispute, Morocco presented last April a proposal to grant substantial autonomy to its Southern provinces. The initiative was widely praised as “serious” and “credible”.

    Morocco and Polisario held, last June and August, two rounds of UN-sponsored talks in Manhasset (New York outskirts) in accordance with the UN Security Council 1754 that called on the parties to enter into negotiations “in good faith and without preconditions.”