HIBAPRESS – Las Palmas
In a move reflecting the cohesion of the Spanish position on the Moroccan Sahara issue, the President of the Canary Islands government, Fernando Clavijo, announced his government's full adoption of Madrid's official position, supporting the Moroccan autonomy plan, as the most serious, realistic, and credible framework for resolving this regional dispute.
This statement came during a joint press conference with the President of the Souss-Massa region council, Karim Achengli, who is leading an institutional and economic delegation on a working visit to Las Palmas, aimed at consolidating bridges of cooperation between the two shores. Clavijo stressed that the Canary Islands, as an integral part of the Spanish state, are fully committed to the sovereign decisions taken by the central government, adding that this engagement reflects a clear respect for the strategic direction Madrid has chosen in dealing with the Sahara file. This position comes as an extension of the dynamic launched by the 13th High-Level Meeting between Morocco and Spain, which explicitly supported the autonomy initiative, in harmony with the contents of UN Resolution 2797, which values realistic and applicable proposals for ending the fabricated conflict. In the same context, the Spanish official highlighted the importance of deepening the partnership with Morocco, recalling his repeated visits to the Kingdom, which provided an opportunity to assess the potential for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of blue economy, tourism, academic exchange, as well as water resource management. He also revealed the organization of several trade missions aimed at strengthening economic exchanges and exploring promising investment opportunities, thereby enhancing the integration between the Canary Islands and the Souss-Massa region, and giving bilateral relations a practical dimension that goes beyond the diplomatic framework towards a tangible development partnership. With this position, the Canary Islands consolidate their alignment with the general Spanish trend, at a time when Moroccan-Spanish relations are moving towards further rapprochement, driven by common economic and strategic stakes, making cooperation between the two shores an inevitable option to face the challenges of the present and anticipate the opportunities of the future.
