Algeria and South Africa reaffirm support for Polisario at Non-Aligned Movement meeting

The Ugandan capital hosted a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement on January 17 and 18. South Africa and Algeria sent their respective foreign ministers to attend the meeting.

In her speech, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor emphasized the need for «defending the independence of the people of Western Sahara».

Ahmed Attaf, Algeria’s Foreign Minister, lauded «the Non-Aligned Movement's unwavering stance in favor of the Sahrawi people's inalienable right to self-determination, as stipulated in relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly».

Following these public pronouncements, the two ministers «met at length» in Kampala, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed.

Interestingly, both South Africa and Algeria share support for the Polisario Front. Algeria has even prioritized this support in its UN Security Council term (2024-2025). Moreover, Algiers voted for South Africa's UN Human Rights Council presidency, which was won by Morocco.