Théodore wrote in a letter addressed to the Moroccan ambassador in Abidjan: "we approve of this autonomy proposal for the Southern Provinces as it would put an end, we hope, to a conflict from which suffer for several decades, not only the maghrebin and Mediterranean region, but the whole African continent."

    Morocco is devising a plan to grant autonomy to its Sahara and solve a three-decade-old dispute over the control of the territory with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front separatists. The proposal, which keeps Morocco's sovereignty over the territory, will be submitted to the United Nations next month.

    The Ivorian official, who is also Minister of Culture and Francophonie, underlined that this plan would allow the Sahara populations to manage their own affairs “in accordance with the Security Council resolutions.”

    Morocco has recently launched an active diplomatic action that consists in informing the world’s most influential capitals about the plan, and drum up support for it before presenting it to the UN in April.