At a press briefing following the weekly cabinet meeting, Communications Minister, Government Spokesman, Khalid Naciri said that Fassi Fihri stressed before the cabinet members that this round was also an opportunity to highlight the relevance and appropriateness of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, as the United Nations Security Council itself confirmed.

    Naciri added that the Moroccan delegation that took part in this round, which was attended by representatives of Algeria, Mauritania and the polisario, expressed its "extreme disappointment" with polisario’s refusal to discuss the issue of human rights though it was introduced upon a previous request of the polisario. 

     He said that this proves that this issue is only a maneuver which aims for a media consumption and to disrupt the negotiation process.

    Fassi Fihri said a new round of informal talks on the Sahara is planned for late May, whose agenda will focus on natural resources, mining, the continued search for innovative approaches and strict compliance with the measures of confidence to organize the family visit exchange operations.

    In this context, he said that Morocco reiterates the need for Algeria to assume its responsibilities at the political, legal and moral levels to reach Morocco’s willingness to normalize bilateral relations.

    Naciri said that Morocco remains committed, with seriousness and credibility, to work in order to achieve a political settlement and final consensus on the basis of the autonomy initiative.

    And this, he went on to say, in line with the requirements of territorial governance and advanced regionalization, as has been underlined by HM King Mohammed VI in his historic speech on March 9 in which the Sovereign announced a far-reaching constitutional reform.