Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joshua Harris landed in Algeria on Wednesday to revive discussions on regional peace and the Sahara question, according to a tweet by the US State Department for Near East Affairs. Harris will visit Morocco directly after Algeria.
His visits are part of a round of consultations with Algeria and Morocco on furthering regional peace and accelerating the UN political process regarding the Sahara to “achieve an enduring and dignified solution without further delay,” according to the tweet.
Harris met with Morocco’s FM Nasser Bourita in September as part of a regional mission to confer on security matters and reiterate the United States’ commitment to the UN political process concerning the Sahara.
During his last visit, Deputy Assistant Secretary and US Ambassador to Morocco Puneet Talwar reiterated the US’s position on the Moroccan Sahara, lauding Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as “serious, credible, and realistic” and “one potential approach to meeting the aspirations of the people” of the region.
Harris made a stop in Algeria to meet with the leader of the Polisario separatists in the Tindouf camps before coming to Morocco.
The talks will focus on how to support the efforts of Staffan de Mistura, the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sahara, to revive the peace process.