Sahara Issue: Papua New Guinea Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty, Autonomy Plan

Papua New Guinea on Wednesday reaffirmed its support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara and the Autonomy Plan, presented by Morocco for the final resolution of this regional dispute. On the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, held talks with minister of Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea, Justin Tkatchenko. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the status of the excellent bilateral relations and highlight the importance of further strengthening them. Mr. Bourita stressed that, despite the geographical distance, Morocco’s relations with Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Island Countries are at the center of the Kingdom’s South-South cooperation, in accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The minister added that Morocco is a reliable and cooperative partner of Papua New Guinea and reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to continue to support the efforts of the Government of this country to achieve the socio-economic development aspirations of its population. The two ministers reaffirmed the attachment of their respective countries to the respect of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States as well as to the values of dialogue for the peaceful resolution of disputes. In this regard, Mr. Tkatchenko reaffirmed his country’s support for the Kingdom’s sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara and for the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, as the only and unique solution to this regional dispute. He also highly praised the socio-economic development of the Southern Provinces that has been achieved thanks to the new development model launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2015. The minister also reiterated his country’s support for the efforts of the Secretary General of the United Nations and his personal Envoy for the Sahara in order to achieve a realistic, practicable and enduring political solution based on compromise, in accordance with the parameters defined by the Security Council resolutions since 2007, in particular resolution 2703 adopted on October 30, 2023. The two ministers agreed to continue and further strengthen their cooperation and coordination within international organizations and multilateral fora and committed to supporting each other on issues on the global agenda, particularly those related to climate change and sea level rise.