Belgium is latest Western nation to back Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara

Belgium has become the latest Western nation to back Morocco’s autonomy plan as a solution for the decades-long dispute over Western Sahara.

A joint Moroccan-Belgian declaration signed in Brussels on Thursday formalised Belgium’s support for the initiative first presented in 2007.

Belgium’s minister of foreign affairs, Maxime Prévot said the proposal “envisions that this region would fall within the framework of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and national unity.”

“It constitutes the most adequate, serious, credible, and realistic basis for reaching a political solution that is fair, lasting, and mutually acceptable," he said.

Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, welcomed the decision saying it was an acknowledgement of the “realistic and legitimate vision championed” by King Mohammed VI.

The conflict over Western Sahara dates back to 1975. It pits Morocco, which considers the desert territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state there.

Prévot, who is also deputy prime minister, affirmed that from now on, Brussels would act in line, on both diplomatic and economic levels, with its new position on the autonomy plan.

Belgium’s decision aligns it with stances already taken by the United States, Britain, and several European Union countries.

Algeria and the Polisario Front have denounced Western nations that back the autonomy plan and insist on holding a referendum on the issue, with independence as an option.

The growing support for the Moroccan plan comes as the United Nations seeks a closure to the dispute, which has been ongoing for 50 years.