Delegations from Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania are expected to meet in New York’s Long Island for another round of informal talks on the Western Sahara conflict next week, according to UN Spokesperson’s Office here Thursday.
“As agreed during the last round of informal talks on Western Sahara in June, delegations of the parties to that conflict — Morocco and the Frente Polisario — and the neighboring states — Algeria and Mauritania — will gather for another round of informal talks from July 19 to 21 in Greentree, Long Island,” said a note to correspondents.
The parties to the conflict will gather for an eighth round, which comes at the invitation of the personal envoy of the secretary-general for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, within the mandate provided by the UN Security Council for UN-led negotiations.
As previously agreed, the parties will “further deepen their discussion of their respective proposals on a settlement, including the issue of the electoral corps and mechanisms for self- determination,” said the note.
They will also further discuss the new ideas put forward by the secretary-general in a report which were endorsed by the Security Council, the note said.
“They will also have the opportunity to review the status of confidence building measures, continue their discussion on demining and engage in a preliminary examination of the specific topic of natural resources,” said the note.
The parties to the conflict — Morocco, which has had control of Western Sahara since the 1970s, and the Polisario Front, which favors independence of the territory — have been trying to negotiate a solution in UN-led talks for several years.
The parties to the conflict last met for informal talks in Long Island in June.
Source:Xinhua
