The Moroccan Sahara returned to the center of American diplomatic activity on Thursday in New York, where Massad Boulos, special adviser to President Donald Trump for Arab and African affairs, held talks with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, underscores Washington’s continued engagement with the long-running regional dispute.
According to Algeria’s foreign ministry, the discussions covered « developments in the Sahara issue » alongside the broader state of US-Algeria relations. The New York meeting came just hours after Boulos met separately with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, a conversation described as focused on « several files of mutual interest » between Rabat and Washington.
The back-to-back meetings reflect the consistency of the American position on the Moroccan Sahara. The United States maintains its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the southern provinces and continues to back Rabat’s autonomy initiative as the only serious and credible basis for reaching a lasting political settlement of the dispute.
Beyond the Sahara file, the American consultations fit into a wider pattern of strengthened partnerships between Washington and the region’s capitals. Morocco, for its part, continues to deepen its strategic ties with the United States across several key sectors, including trade, energy, and security cooperation, reaffirming the Kingdom’s standing as a privileged partner of the US administration.
These developments come against a backdrop of mounting diplomatic pressure on proponents of the separatist thesis, with several countries in recent months revising their positions in favor of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. Moroccan diplomacy continues to build on this growing international support to reinforce the Kingdom’s territorial integrity on the multilateral stage.
