U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Joshua Harris is on a working trip to Rabat, Morocco from Dec 17-18 to consult with Moroccan officials on various topics, tweeted the US. State Department for Near Eastern Affairs on Sunday.
Harris’ visit to Morocco intends to deepen the U.S.-Morocco alliance while also revisiting several regional security objectives, such as the situation in Gaza and the UN process on the Sahara issue, added the same source.
Harris will reaffirm the U.S.’s official position on the Moroccan Sahara issue, and its support for UN Personal Envoy Staffan De Mistura in streamlining the negotiations process to “achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution” on the issue.
These negotiations–gathering all relevant stakeholders, and reflective of their respective commitment to UN efforts–will “constitute the final resolution for this regional problem.”
The U.S. still supports the Autonomy Plan as a serious, credible, and realistic solution to the settlement.
On his North African regional mission, Harris visited Algeria first on December 6, as part of this “consultation on advancing regional peace and intensifying the UN political process in the Sahara.”
The Deputy Assistant Secretary had traveled to both Morocco and Algeria in early September of this year for the same reason.