Dakhla, 01/03/2024 (MAP) – In a landmark development, participants in the first Policy Conference of the Coalition for Autonomy in the Sahara (AUSACO) lauded Morocco’s commendable efforts in advancing the new development model for the Southern provinces. The conference, held in Dakhla, aimed to position the region as a pivotal gateway connecting Morocco to Africa and beyond.

The conference’s final statement, titled « Dakhla Declaration, » expressed appreciation for the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI and commended various Royal initiatives. These include the ambitious Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline and a Sovereign’s Initiative enabling Atlantic access for Sahel countries.

According to the declaration, these initiatives align with a strategic vision to transform the Moroccan Sahara into a hub for security, stability, and co-development across the Atlantic, Saharan, African, and Mediterranean regions.

Participants also hailed the prevailing climate of peace, security, freedom, and democracy in the Moroccan Sahara region. Notably, 32 countries from diverse continents have opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, reinforcing an irreversible trend in support of the Sahara’s Moroccan identity.

While affirming support for the Sahara’s Moroccan identity, AUSACO members from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America called on nations worldwide to explicitly back the Moroccan autonomy initiative. The aim is to join the 110 countries that have already firmly expressed support for the initiative.

On a diplomatic note, the Dakhla Declaration presented by AUSACO’s Africa Coordinator Abdellatif Aidara, urged Algeria to fulfill its international humanitarian obligations. This call is aimed at ending the situation of lawlessness in the Tindouf camps located on Algerian territory.

AUSACO members further appealed to Algeria to facilitate the dignified return of populations in these camps to their homeland, Morocco. Additionally, they urged Algeria to acknowledge its historical responsibilities in the genesis, evolution, and persistence of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. The plea included a call for Algeria’s engagement in the UN process with a spirit of realism and compromise.

The conference saw the presence of key figures, including the governor of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Ali Khalil, the president of the Regional Council, Yenja El Khattat, and numerous parliamentarians from the Southern provinces. Notable figures from the region’s tribes and representatives of civil society also attended.

AUSACO, an independent organization uniting over 3,000 individuals from politics, diplomacy, academia, journalism, law, and civil society globally, remains dedicated to advocating for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative. This initiative is regarded as the sole and comprehensive solution to conclusively resolve the regional dispute, gaining traction across various political, parliamentary, and academic spheres.