On Sunday, American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita spoke by phone to discuss regional and international developments while reiterating their commitment to furthering their bilateral cooperation in the areas of security and economy.

According to a statement from the U.S. State Department, Blinken “welcomed King Mohammed VI’s decisive role in promoting regional peace and his leadership in promoting a secure and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

I spoke with @MarocDiplomatie’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita today. We discussed the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, strengthening the U.S.-Moroccan bilateral partnership, and efforts to advance regional peace and security.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 15, 2023

The two ministers “mentioned the importance of the Negev Forum,” the same source claims. “They also emphasized the significance of a total commitment to the cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.” Along with the need to support a resolution to the situation in Syria in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, Blinken also emphasized “the illegal occupation of Ukraine by Russia.”

The official added that “the United States fully supports the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, as part of the UN process on Western Sahara with a view to achieving a lasting political outcome.”

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Algeria has informed the UN Security Council of its opposition to the round table format for negotiations on resolving the Sahara problem, which it considers “counterproductive,” according to a senior Algerian official.

Morocco and the Polisario Front separatists, as well as Algeria and Mauritania, are participants in the Security Council-recommended round table arrangement.

“We confirm our formal and irreversible rejection of the so-called Round Table format”, which has become “counterproductive”, declared to the official APS news agency Amar Belani, Algerian special invoy in charge of the question of western Sahara and the Maghreb countries.

Belani further accused Morocco of “instrumentalizing” this format to oppose Sahara “decolonization,” warning of “severe risks of escalation” in this “War situation.”

By the end of October, the United Nations Security Council must adopt a new resolution on the Sahara and the mandate of MINURSO, the UN Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara.

Belani called the first draft of the new resolution “extremely imbalanced,” thinking it will “only sanction a predetermined standstill in the political process and foreshadow the failure of the new UN invoy’s efforts.”

In early October, the United Nations named experienced diplomat Staffan de Mistura as the new invoy for this crisis, despite the fact that UN-sponsored talks had been stalled since spring 2019.

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The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs will set up a large mosque in the border center of Guerguerat at an estimated cost of 8 million dirhams.

Aousserd regional prefect, Abderrahman Jawhari, said that the constructional work of this mosque, which will open its doors within 12 months, started today, Wednesday, on the occasion of the 65^th Anniversary of the Kingdom’s Independence Day.

The project, which will be built on an area of 3,767 square meters, includes a prayer hall for men, one for women, rooms for ablution, a minaret and house for the Imam.

The representative of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Al-Dakhla – Oued Dahab Region, Abdelkader Alioui, said in a statement to Maghreb Arab News Agency that the construction of this mosque comes in response to the concern that the believers can perform their religious duties in good conditions and cope with the urban development dynamics known by Guerguerat border and the Bir Gandouz community.

Aliwi added that this religious edifice will be constructed in respect of the norms of Islamic architecture in accordance with the High Instructions of his Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the believers.

The Bir Gandouz border Center has seen significant socio-economic development in the recent years, due to its strategic geographical position on the Moroccan-Mauritanian border.

In addition to the interests of the State, many contractors have established branches at this center to provide services to both travelers and inhabitants.

Moreover, about 200 trucks cross this road-axis daily on their way to Mauritania and the rest of West African countries.

The movement of goods and people at Guerguerat border crossing resumed last Saturday, after the Royal Armed forces’ firm intervention against Polisario militias in the buffer zone after they broke into it on October 21, and blocked traffic between Morocco and Mauritania.

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Palestinian embassy denied, on Monday, statements an Algerian newspaper attributed to the Palestinian ambassador, Amin Maqbool, concerning his country’s position on the issue of Moroccan Sahara.

The embassy announced, in a statement published in Algiers, that it was “surprised by publishing an article on the Algerian newspaper (Al-Wasat), which says that the Palestinian ambassador in Algeria disavows the statements of the Palestinian ambassador in Morocco,” in support of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

The source clarified that the ambassador expressed hope in “solving the issue of the Sahara in peace and tranquility,” wishing “progress and prosperity for the Algerian and Moroccan people.”

The source added the Palestinian ambassador’s emphasis on “the commitment to the United Nations decisions to find an agreed political solution to this issue.”

Last Friday, the Palestinian embassy in Rabat reaffirmed the position of the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which defends the unity and security of Morocco, and supports its territorial integrity and efforts in this context, in accordance with the decisions of the League of Arab States and United Nations.

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