Dar es Salaam. The Kingdom of Morocco has stated that its pursuit of resolving the Sahara dispute through autonomy demonstrates that decolonisation can be achieved through development-driven sovereignty rather than a perpetual deadlock.
Morocco’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Zakaria El Goumiri, made the remarks in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, November 8, 2025, during a phone interview with The Citizen.
He was speaking as Morocco marked a dual milestone: half a century since the historic Green March of 1975 and seven decades since gaining independence from French and Spanish protectorates in 1956.
Ambassador El Goumiri highlighted the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) recent adoption of Resolution 2797/2025, which, for the first time in a binding text, recognised Morocco’s autonomy proposal as “the only” credible basis for a lasting solution to the Sahara conflict.
“Why is this milestone so significant? For more than half a century, this ‘artificial’ conflict, stemming from colonial withdrawal and regional geopolitics, has impeded full Maghreb integration and diverted Africa’s attention from joint development,” he said.
“By securing international recognition for its autonomy plan, Morocco aims to turn the page, prioritise development across its territory and revitalise regional cooperation,” he added.
In the resolution adopted on October 31, 2025 the UNSC stated that genuine autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty could represent the most viable resolution to Rabat’s 50-year dispute with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Western Sahara, a desert region roughly the size of Britain, has been Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since Spain withdrew in 1975.
The UNSC, through a US-drafted text, called on parties to negotiate based on Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan.
Morocco claims the territory as its own, while the Polisario Front seeks an independent state, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
“We urge all parties to engage in serious discussions in the coming weeks,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the council after the vote, adding that regional peace is possible this year, and we will make every effort to facilitate progress.
Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained, while Algeria did not vote. The remaining 11 council members approved the resolution, which also renewed for one year the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, MINURSO.
Ambassador El Goumiri said the moment is ripe not only for reflection but for bold affirmation: Morocco is emerging as a key actor in Africa’s security, sovereignty, and integration.
“It is reclaiming its role as a catalyst for peace, development, and a united Maghreb,” he said.
Quoting King Mohammed VI in his address to the nation following the resolution, the Ambassador said: “After 50 years of sacrifices, and with the guidance of God Almighty, we are entering a new chapter to consolidate the Moroccanness of the Sahara and close, once and for all, this fabricated conflict through a consensual solution based on the Autonomy Initiative.”
The Ambassador added that by highlighting Morocco’s historical role in African independence and its current development surge, the Kingdom positions itself as a key partner in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), continental infrastructure corridors, and South-South cooperation.
“The success of this region could serve as a model of how territorial sovereignty, strategic economic investment, and regional integration can transform former margins into continental hubs,” he said.
“Today, Morocco’s southern provinces, including Laâyoune and Dakhla, are no longer frontier regions but gateways. Their development reinforce Morocco as a regional and continental hub for logistics, energy, and human capital,” he added.
On the country’s transformation under King Mohammed VI, the envoy said Morocco has implemented sweeping reforms across political, economic, social, and infrastructural sectors over the past 26 years.
“From launching the ‘New Development Model’ in the southern provinces to investing in major ports, renewable energy, and connectivity, the Kingdom has sought to convert sovereignty into prosperity,” he said.
He highlighted Morocco’s solidarity with Africa. “As Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Hilale, noted, the Saharan provinces are central to three major Royal initiatives: the Royal Atlantic Initiative, the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline, and the Sahel Initiative.”
“These projects allow the provinces to connect Africa to the world and promote continental integration,” he added.
Morocco’s role in continental liberation
Ambassador El Goumiri emphasised that, beyond national achievements, Morocco has long been a partner in Africa’s liberation and development.
He said the Kingdom’s diplomatic and material support to numerous African independence movements has been recognised by its continental peers.
“Morocco provided logistical, political, and military assistance to liberation movements in Algeria, Guinea-Bissau, and other countries,” he said.
He added that during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Moroccan territory offered a haven and training for African National Congress (ANC) activists.
He said the Algerian Liberation Army headquarters was in Rabat, with training camps near Oujda.
“This is where, according to multiple testimonies, Nelson Mandela received military training,” he said.
“In this way, Morocco not only secured its own independence and territorial integrity but also contributed quietly yet tangibly to the freedom of others across the continent,” he added.
The Green March, independence, and a United Maghreb
The envoy said Morocco this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of asserting its sovereignty after overcoming the colonial protectorate system.
He said the country marks the formal end of the French protectorate on March 2, 1956, while independence is commemorated on November 18, the day King Mohammed V returned from exile and national unity was restored.
The Green March of November 6, 1975, remains a landmark: some 350,000 Moroccan volunteers, carrying the Holy Qur’an and national flags, peacefully entered the then-Spanish Sahara to reclaim Morocco’s “Southern Provinces.”
“The event did more than reclaim territory; it symbolised Morocco’s commitment to achieving territorial integrity and development through peaceful means. As the late King Hassan II said: ‘We must act as one to join the Sahara,’” he said.
“Today, Morocco commemorates ‘50 Years after the Green March’ and emphasises that its southern provinces have become a model of stability and growth,” he added.
What future holds?
The envoy said that as Morocco marks 70 years of independence and 50 years since the Glorious Green March, celebration alone is insufficient.
“The Kingdom now leverages its historical achievements for a forward-looking vision: where southern provinces are engines of development, the autonomy plan is a framework for governance, Africa-solidarity is operational, and the Maghreb is united rather than fragmented,” he said.
According to Ambassador El Goumiri, Morocco invites Africans, Arabs, and global partners to join it, from the Atlantic, across the Sahara, into the Sahel, and beyond.
The story is no longer solely about reclaiming what was lost; it is about building what must be shared.
