The UK's endorsement of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan is a welcome step

Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Co-operation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy sign bilateral agreements after their meeting in Rabat, Morocco, last month. EPAShow less

Last month, the United Kingdom took the welcome – but well overdue – move to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the Moroccan Sahara. This step, for which I have long been a strong campaigner, brings the UK into line with allies such as the United States, France, Spain, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Germany and the UAE, who recognise Morocco to be a trusted and dependable ally and a lynchpin for regional security in the Sahel. The Kingdom of Morocco is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest allies and is a key partner across a range of issues pertinent to British and global security.

The Autonomy Plan, wherein the Sahara region would be self-governed by the Sahrawi people under Moroccan sovereignty, represents the only credible and pragmatic solution to the issue. The Autonomy Plan not only proposes a peaceful resolution to this dispute, but also offers a positive vision of economic development through investment and job creation. Those opposed to the plan offer no viable, let alone positive, alternative.

With the construction of the new Dakhla Atlantic Port, the UK has an opportunity to make the most of the new trade and economic development opportunities underpinned by the security outlined in the Autonomy Plan. This will support Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative, which serves the noble goal of promoting interconnectivity in the Sahel by providing them with improved access to the Atlantic Ocean.

The strengthening of UK–Morocco partnerships comes at a critical moment. The risks of instability in the region are not limited to migration, a lack of investment and terrorism, but as the world is looking towards the Middle East, another Iranian proxy has been allowed to strengthen in West Africa.

Recent attacks by jihadist insurgents in Mali show how fragile the region can be, and the importance of ensuring that the West is taking a keen interest in the region against the backdrop of increasing Russian and Iranian presence.

Security will also lead to greater trade and investment opportunities. We have already seen the potential that the £20 billion Xlinks renewable energy initiative connecting Morocco and the UK could bring. Its huge advantages hinge, of course, on the political stability that the Autonomy Plan brings. A decision to fully support this project would send a strong signal to investors and partners that the UK supports a stable framework for the region, safeguarding infrastructure that will supply a significant share of British electricity by 2030. It is disappointing that, despite strong business and political support, Britain’s Labour government has not shown the level of enthusiasm that this visionary venture deserves.

There is also a clear strategic reason to embrace the Autonomy Plan over the vision of the Polisario.

The Polisario Front, which claims to represent the Sahrawi people, has been described as a ‘separatist group’. Yet, the Polisario have links to Iran and other terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah that should worry those committed to regional stability. Zineb Riboua, a senior research fellow at the US Hudson Institute, wrote in a recent report that the Polisario receive drones and training from the IRGC and Hezbollah. In 2018, the presence of a Hezbollah training camp in Tindouf, a town in Algeria close to the Moroccan Sahara border, led to Morocco cutting diplomatic ties with Iran. More broadly, the Polisario has pursued a strategy of disorder, instability, and chaos which aligns with the Russian, Iranian, and Chinese approach to the Sahel.

In the US, Congressman Joe Wilson – who described the Polisario as a “Marxist militia backed by Iran, Hezbollah and Russia providing Iran a strategic outpost in Africa and destabilising the Kingdom of Morocco” – has introduced legislation to designate the Polisario as a foreign terrorist organisation. This ought to be followed by the United Kingdom.

Last week, the Polisario attacked civilian infrastructure in Smara. Attacks on a close ally must not be tolerated – especially if they come from an Iranian-backed militia. We must be clear that those who challenge our collective values are called out by the international community and isolated in the way that their behaviour deserves.