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A triumphant moment for Morocco, marked by fresh endorsements of its sovereignty over Western Sahara. On Wednesday, three Pacific states, Micronesia, Palau, and Papua New Guinea, announced their recognition of the Moroccan identity of the Sahara. Their foreign ministers, Lorin S. Robert, Gustav Ngiracheluolu Aitaro, and Justin Tkatchenko, made the announcements following talks with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in New York, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
The three countries underlined that «the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, within the framework of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, is the sole and exclusive solution to this regional dispute, in line with Security Council resolutions since 2007, including Resolution 2756 of October 31, 2024», according to communiqués issued by Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These declarations were reinforced with the signing of 2025–2027 cooperation roadmaps between Morocco and the three Pacific island states. Through these agreements, Rabat committed to sharing its experience and expertise to support their development priorities, Moroccan diplomacy added.
A rapprochement launched in 2012
The model of two-year cooperation roadmaps has already proven effective with African countries such as Burundi, Zambia, and Malawi, as well as Caribbean states like Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada, all of which have recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. This mechanism allows Rabat to consolidate and «protect» these recognitions, especially as Algeria continues to exert diplomatic, political, and civil society pressure to persuade states to withdraw their support.
The endorsement by Micronesia, Palau, and Papua New Guinea is the result of over a decade of sustained Moroccan diplomacy. A milestone in this policy was the 3rd Morocco–Pacific Island States Forum, held in February 2020 in Laayoune, which culminated in the adoption of the «Laayoune Declaration». The declaration laid out a roadmap for future cooperation and set a schedule for regular meetings among member states.
Morocco’s dialogue with Pacific states began in December 2012 in Rabat, which also hosted the second edition of the forum in December 2015.
