Britain’s Foreign Minister David Lammy has said that the UK considers Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the most feasible basis to resolve the conflict over Western Sahara.
The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the territory as its own, against the Polisario front, which seeks an independent state in the desert territory.
The autonomy plan submitted by Morocco in 2007 stands ‘as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute’, said Lammy after talks with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat.
“The UK will continue to act bilaterally, including economically, regionally and internationally in line with this position to support the resolution of the conflict,” added Lammy.
The position places Britain as the third permanent UN Security Council member to endorse Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, following the US and France.
Bourita hailed the UK’s position as historic, saying it was part of ‘a momentum to speed up the solution of the conflict’.
The two countries also signed deals to co-operate in healthcare, innovation, port and water infrastructure and procurement.
Lammy said the deals would ‘ensure British businesses score big on football’s biggest stage’, as Morocco pushes for infrastructure investment in preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
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