By Napoleon Ato Kittoe
Kenya has expressed its support for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty and affirmed its intention to cooperate with like-minded States to promote its implementation.
his position was expressed on the occasion of the first session of the Morocco-Kenya Joint Cooperation Commission, co-chaired in Nairobi by Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita and Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Kenya Dr. Musalia Mudavadi.
In the Joint Communiqué adopted at the end of this Joint Commission, Kenya “welcomed the growing international consensus and the momentum driven by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in favor of the autonomy plan presented by the Kingdom of Morocco,” describing autonomy as “the only credible and realistic solution to resolve the dispute over the Sahara.”
Deeming the autonomy plan presented by Morocco to be a “sustainable approach” to resolving the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, Kenya stated its intention to “cooperate with like-minded States to promote its implementation.”
The Republic of Kenya also welcomed the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2797, which enshrines “the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the basis for a just, lasting and mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute.”
In this regard, Kenya stated that it “endorses the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to facilitate and conduct negotiations based on the autonomy plan.”
In this Joint Communiqué, the Kingdom of Morocco “welcomed the support of the Republic of Kenya for the United Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to achieve a lasting political solution” to the dispute over the Sahara issue.
Morocco further expressed its “appreciation for Kenya’s recognition of the Kingdom’s continued cooperation with the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to advance the political process” on the basis of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
