Korea Throws Weight Behind Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Sahara
In a comprehensive bilateral relations overview released today, Korea unequivocally backed Morocco's 2007 autonomy initiative as the path forward for resolving the territorial dispute.
'Korea takes note of the Moroccan autonomy proposal presented in April 2007 to the Secretary-General of the UN and welcomes serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards a resolution of this issue,' the statement declared.
The statement directly referenced language from UN Security Council Resolution 1754, delivering a stinging diplomatic victory for Rabat and another crushing blow to Algiers.
Korea's official stance catapults it into Morocco's surging support base. Over 113 countries globally now champion the Autonomy Plan, demolishing Algeria's increasingly isolated position.
The diplomatic breakthrough comes amid intensifying Korea-Morocco relations. A flurry of high-level exchanges has cemented bilateral ties, with Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo visiting Rabat in January 2024 and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo in July 2024.
Korean private sector giants have aggressively expanded their Moroccan footprint. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics operate thriving local subsidiaries. Korean automotive parts manufacturers have established production facilities across Morocco.
The Korea-Morocco relationship received a massive boost in February when Hyundai Rotem clinched a €1.5 billion megadeal to supply 110 trains to Morocco's National Railway Office (ONCF).
Bilateral trade between the nations exploded to approximately $550 million in 2024. Both countries signed a Joint Statement in June 2024 launching exploratory discussions for an Economic Partnership Agreement to further accelerate trade flows.
Korea also pays tribute to eight Moroccan veterans who fought valiantly in the Korean War following the decision of King Mohammed V.
Seoul and Rabat have forged agreements on climate change cooperation, social security, and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund during the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit.
Korea joins the avalanche of countries deserting Algeria's increasingly desperate separatist gambit. Slovenia, Finland, Denmark, and Estonia recently swelled the ranks of the 20-plus EU countries rallying behind Morocco's territorial integrity.
'The only viable path'
Algeria's Western Sahara strategy lies in tatters. UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura brutally shattered Algeria's partition dreams during an April Security Council briefing, where he abandoned his October 2024 partition proposal and embraced Morocco's Autonomy Plan as 'the only viable path' forward.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also devastated Algeria's position forcefully reaffirming America's commitment to Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. This renewed US backing came after the original December 2020 recognition of Moroccan sovereignty by the first Trump administration.
France has decisively turned against Algeria's machinations, following years of diplomatic tension with Morocco that compelled Paris to move beyond its cost-neutral position. After maintaining deliberate ambiguity since 2007, France is now vowing to mobilize international support for Morocco's autonomy initiative.
Algeria now confronts catastrophic diplomatic isolation, made more painful by its current position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, where its diminishing influence has been publicly exposed.
Morocco's ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, eviscerated Algeria's claims in a scathing April 28 Security Council letter, responding to 'tendentious declarations' made by Algeria's ambassador during a meeting on 'Challenges related to forced displacement worldwide.'
Hilale systematically dismantled what he termed 'fallacious and mendacious allegations' about the Sahara situation.
Hilale savaged Algeria for its five-decade sequestration of populations in the Tindouf camps since 1975, denying them basic rights and diverting humanitarian aid through its Polisario proxies.
His letter detailed how Algeria has entrusted 'jurisdiction, control and management' of these camps to the armed separatist Polisario group, violating international humanitarian law.
The Algerian regime stubbornly refuses to allow the UN refugee agency to conduct a census in the Tindouf camps, despite clear Security Council directives issued every year since 2011.
This obstruction facilitates systematic humanitarian aid diversion, documented by reports from the European Anti-Fraud Office, the UNHCR Inspector General's Office, and the World Food Programme.
Algeria's diplomatic maneuvers have collapsed spectacularly across multiple fronts. Even Russia – its traditional ally and major arms supplier – appears to be reconsidering its position.
Moscow has abstained from Security Council votes on Western Sahara resolutions since 2016, and may now be further distancing itself as it prioritizes potential diplomatic agreements to end the Ukraine war, potentially sacrificing the Algerian relationship on the altar of greater geopolitical expediency. Tags: autonomy planmorocco koreaWestern sahara
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