The German government supports Morocco’s plans for the Western Sahara, a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa.
About 20% of the Western Sahara’s territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco.
On a visit to Rabat, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the plans as “a good basis” to reach a solution to the conflict.
ICYMI 🇩🇪🇲🇦 Germany's (Green Party) FM reiterated Berlin's support for Sahara autonomy plan#Germany considers, in this respect, the autonomy plan presented in 2007 as a serious and credible effort by #Morocco and as a good basis for a solution agreed upon between both parties. pic.twitter.com/q5pHQKudl2
— Prof. Michael Tanchum (@michaeltanchum) August 29, 2022
In February, Germany and Morocco moved towards reconciliation as both governments committed to “amicable relations” and to overcome “misunderstandings” in a video conference. This follows Germany’s criticism of former American President Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory.
Germany has since confined itself to supporting the UN-led negotiations on the matter, but its foreign minister hereby now declares the tensions with Morocco to have ended.
Picture: Map of Western Sahara – wikimedia – Kmusser, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/morocco-germany-begin-new-chapter-following-western-sahara-tension/