Germany has reiterated its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Sahara. A position voiced during «the 50th session of intergovernmental negotiations on Morocco-Germany cooperation, which was held in Rabat on December 7 and 8, 2023», indicates the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. In the same statement, the «German side emphasized the exclusive role of the UN in the political process and reiterated its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2703, which acknowledged the role and responsibility of the parties in seeking a realistic, pragmatic, sustainable, and compromise-based political solution». This reaffirmed position in favor of the Moroccan autonomy plan comes as the Polisario and its supporters in Germany are trying to convince Chancellor Olaf Scholz to adopt the same position of Angela Merkel on the territorial dispute. Algeria also tried to influence the German position during a visit on June 23 by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, to Berlin. After this trip, the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, described, during a lively press briefing on July 6 in Berlin with her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, «the autonomy plan presented in 2007 as a serious and credible effort by Morocco and as a good basis for a solution accepted by both parties».
