Paraguay had withdrawn its recognition of the so-called SADR in 2000.

    This position had been reiterated by Hamed Franco during the visit of a Moroccan delegation to Paraguay last November, stressing that Asuncion "has not changed its position" on the Sahara issue and that polisario "had taken advantage of a particular situation, namely the change of the administration" in Paraguay last August to sow confusion over Paraguay’s stance.

    In the minutes signed Monday by Moroccan foreign minister, Taib Fassi Fihri, and his Paraguayan counterpart at the end of the first session of the joint Moroccan-Paraguayan committee, the two countries "commended Morocco's efforts to settle this dispute, which were described by the United Nations as serious and credible.”

    The Paraguayan official also deemed the Moroccan project to grant larger autonomy to the kingdom’s Southern provinces “a contribution that must be considered.”

    For his part, Fassi Fihri described as “tangible” the results of this session, which aim to “consolidate political dialogue” to get acquainted with the situation in Latin America, particularly in Paraguay and at the level of MERCOSUR (which groups Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay),  as well as “technical cooperation in the area of human development, notably in the field of health care, culture and education.”

Source: MAP
News and events on Western Sahara issue/ Corcas