Jordan reaffirmed its position supporting the Moroccan territorial integrity, and to the autonomy initiative, which "goes in line with efforts made by the international community, under UN aegis, in a bid to reach a final political solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, to guarantee stability and development in the Maghreb region," read a joint communiqué issued at the end of the three-day official visit of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania to Morocco.

    The longstanding dispute broke out in 1976 between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists over the control of the Sahara, a former Spanish colony ceded to Morocco under the Madrid Accords signed in 1975 by Rabat, Madrid and Nouakchott.

    The joint communiqué stressed that the Jordanian position stems from the importance to "activate the joint Arab action on the basis of economic development, in a way that guarantees the achievement of the desired progress, consolidate the active Arab solidarity, within the framework of the good neighborhood policy and the reinforcement of territorial integrity and inviolability of Arab countries and of their sovereignty."

    Morocco and the Polisario have held three rounds of UN-sponsored talks to discuss the future of the Sahara. A fourth round is scheduled for mid March.