On October 31, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution centering Morocco’s autonomy plan as the basis for resolving the Western Sahara conflict. Of Rabat’s recent diplomatic victories on the issue, this is the most significant. It follows a statement a few weeks earlier from United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the TV news program “60 Minutes” that his team was working on a Morocco-Algeria deal that he hoped to have hammered out within 60 days. The UN vote and Witkoff’s timeline suggest President Donald Trump wants another headline foreign policy “peacemaking” win. But the opportunity for the Trump administration is bigger than just resolving the Western Sahara issue. It could unlock an opportunity for Morocco-Algeria reconciliation that could integrate the wider Maghreb economy, reduce migration into Europe, expand energy cooperation, and enable stronger Sahel counter-terrorism coordination. Doing so would be a huge win for Trump. It would advance US interests in burden-sharing with Europe, counter Russian and Chinese influence, and facilitate foreign investment in a region bridging Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Successfully resolving this long-standing dispute requires understanding that Western Sahara is one facet of a bigger issue and drives the deeper competition for regional leadership between Morocco and Algeria. This rivalry, rooted in both states’ post-colonial origins, has flared up periodically and has notably intensified in recent years.
Morocco-Algeria: The case for ambitious reconciliation | Middle East Institute
