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On Wednesday, June 12, a Moroccan delegation of elected representatives from the Sahara visited the Icelandic capital, where they held talks with officials on the Western Sahara issue, MAP reported.
Quoting the Moroccan embassy in Norway and Iceland, the Moroccan news agency said that the Moroccan representatives met with Permanent Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry of Iceland Sturla Sigurjonsson and Aslaug Arna Sigurbjornsdottir, the chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of Iceland's parliament.
During these talks, the Moroccan delegation «reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to a peaceful and lasting solution», MAP wrote, referring to the territorial conflict.
The Moroccan delegation in Iceland. / Ph. MAP
In Reykjavik, the Moroccan delegation presented «the Moroccan autonomy initiative» and described it as an «extended hand to Moroccan Sahrawis stranded in the Tindouf camps, in a very vulnerable situation and not even enjoying United Nations refugee status».
The Moroccan representatives also underlined «the negative consequences of the lasting artificial dispute on the development of North and West Africa, fueling poverty, unemployment, despair and political instability, as well as human trafficking mafias that increasingly target minors trafficked to Europe», MAP wrote.
Ghali's recent meeting with the Icelandic Prime Minister
The Moroccan delegation’s visit to Iceland is likely a response to a previous trip of the Polisario’s leader Brahim Ghali to the Nordic country. On April 3, Ghali was received by the Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir.
This visit was reported by the Front’s press agency, SPS, which published a photo of Ghali standing next to Jakobsdottir, and two members of the Front’s National Secretariat, namely Mohamed Yeslem Baysat and Abdati Brayka.
During their meeting, the Icelandic Prime Minister «welcomed» the Polisario delegation and discussed her «support for the efforts for a solution based on compliance with international legality and United Nations resolutions».
This meeting, according to separatist movement, addressed the latest developments of the territorial conflict, exchanging views on the «efforts of the United Nations (…) in addition to the work of the envoy of the Secretary-General of the UN, Horst Köhler».
Meeting the Icelandic Prime Minister came after the Polisario Front has been trying to get the support of some European countries. Earlier in March, a delegation from the Tindouf camps visited the republic of Ireland and was received by its president.
In Ireland, the Polisario delegation held meetings with several Irish politicians. This visit was relayed by the Algerian press agency, creating a wave of criticism among Moroccan media platforms, which described the meeting as «fake news».
