The United States has again reaffirmed Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara. This came up in a communication by US President Donald Trump to the Moroccan monarch, King Mohammed VI.

At a meeting on Tuesday in Washington between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the latter reiterated that “the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over [the] Sahara.”

Earlier, during a phone conversation in December 2020 between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the U.S. President informed the Sovereign of the issuance of a presidential proclamation, an act with undeniable legal and political weight and immediate effect, announcing the decision of the United States to recognize the full sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over the entire Moroccan Sahara region.

The head of American diplomacy also reiterated that the U.S. “supports Morocco’s serious, credible, and realistic Autonomy Proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute,” Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Tammy Bruce, said.

Marco Rubio also reiterated that the U.S. “continues to believe that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.”

In this respect, he stated that the U.S. President is “urging for the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as the only framework, to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.”

 The Secretary of State noted that “the United States would facilitate progress toward this aim,” the Spokesperson concluded.

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In about two years from now, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the country getting its first international recognition.  

On December 1, 2027, it will be 250 years since the Kingdom of Morocco recognised the US, becoming the first country to recognize the United States of America.

To mark the occasion, a resolution has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives that officially marks the upcoming date of December 1, 2027 date.

 The 250th anniversary is considered “a milestone in one of the longest-standing diplomatic relationships in United States history.”.

According to reports from Maghreb Insider, the bill was proposed by Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Joe Wilson, the Representative from South Carolina and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The resolution reaffirms a great many long-standing bilateral relations including everything from how “Moroccan-American communities contribute to the cultural diversity of  the United States and maintain deep connections to their heritage; to how Morocco remains the only African country with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, to the United States and Morocco cooperate closely on regional security, counterterrorism efforts, and military coordination, including participation in joint military exercises such as African Lion.”

The bill sums up by saying that the U.S. supports all efforts to commemorate the 250th anniversary and the lead-up to 2027, highlighting the “historical and strategic importance of the United States-Morocco alliance.”

This resolution is in the first stage of the legislative process. It will typically be considered by the committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House or Senate as a whole.

As the chair of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union for March, the Kingdom of Morocco convened informal consultations in Addis Ababa on Tuesday with Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan.

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and an unwavering commitment to the unity, peace, stability and progress of our beloved continent that the Kingdom of Morocco, in its capacity as Chair of the PSC, has convened these informal discussions with our brothers from Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan”, the Kingdom’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA Mohamed Arrouchi, who chaired the videoconference remarked.

He recalled that these exchanges fall fully in line with the PSC’s mandate, as defined by its Protocol, in particular Article 8 paragraph 11, which provides for informal consultations with the parties concerned by a situation under examination, whenever required.

Through implementing this key provision of the Protocol, “our meeting aims to strengthen dialogue with states in political transition, to listen to them and to explore together the best means to promote stability, peace and their return to constitutional order, thus paving the way for their full reintegration into our continental organization”, the Moroccan diplomat asserted.

This informal framework “presents the opportunity to address, in all frankness and in a constructive spirit, the challenges and expectations of these brotherly countries, taking into account the realities that are theirs, their national peculiarities and the regional dynamics in which they evolve”, the Ambassador emphasized.

Arrouchi added that the meeting was therefore an essential step towards strengthening dialogue between countries in political transition and AU institutions, identifying paths of intersection and reinforcing inter-African cooperation for lasting peace and stability.

“Our joint action towards our brothers in transition must be guided by a multidimensional approach, rooted in cooperation and solidarity, to identify sustainable solutions tailored to the specific contexts of each country”, he stressed, noting that ‘this meeting marks a significant step towards common and lasting solutions in favour of peace, stability and progress in Africa’.

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