A panel of Moroccan and Italian experts gathered in Verona to highlight the growing international support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative for the Sahara, describing the proposal as the most realistic and credible framework for ensuring long-term peace and regional stability.
The conference under the theme “Autonomy and Regionalized Governance: Comparative Perspectives Between the Italian Experience and the Moroccan Vision,” brought together diplomats, academics, and political analysts to discuss governance models and regional cooperation.
Participants stressed that Morocco’s autonomy proposal offers a pragmatic political solution to the long-running regional dispute while contributing to economic growth and security throughout the Sahel and North African regions, areas currently facing multiple security and geopolitical challenges.
Italian Senator Luigi Spagnolli emphasized that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted last year, reinforced the relevance of Morocco’s autonomy initiative as the basis for resolving the Sahara issue.
Spagnolli also highlighted Morocco’s pluralistic national identity, noting that the Kingdom’s unity has been shaped by the convergence of Arab-Islamic, Amazigh, and Saharan-Hassani cultural components, enriched by African, Andalusian, Hebrew, and Mediterranean influences.
Political analyst and international relations expert Marco Baratto stated that Morocco’s autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty offers a sustainable political perspective while turning the development of the southern provinces into a catalyst for wider regional progress.
Baratto further compared Morocco’s autonomy proposal to the special autonomous status granted to Sicily in 1946, describing both as governance models designed to preserve national unity while promoting regional stability and local governance.
Meanwhile, international relations professor Yasmine El Hassnaoui argued that the autonomy initiative successfully balances sovereignty with self-governance, national cohesion with regional empowerment, and unity with cultural diversity.
She also underlined the scale of investments made in Morocco’s southern provinces, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, and logistics, describing them as evidence of Morocco’s long-term development strategy for the region.
Opening the event, Morocco’s Consul General in Verona, Abdelilah Nejjari, reviewed recent diplomatic developments concerning the Sahara issue under the leadership of King Mohammed VI. He noted that UN Resolution 2797 now serves as an important international reference supporting a realistic, lasting political solution based on Morocco’s autonomy plan.
The gathering was attended by members of the Moroccan community living in Italy as well as senior Italian regional officials, reflecting growing international engagement with Morocco’s position on the Sahara issue.
About the Author
