The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, met yesterday in Rome with the new personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.
“I congratulated him on his appointment and conveyed the commitment of Spain, a member of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, to support him in relaunching the dialogue,” the minister stated via his Twitter account. The meeting, which took place in Rome in the framework of the 7th edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues meeting, was the first one of the new special envoy with a member state of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, formed by Spain, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura was appointed in early October to fill a position that had remained vacant since May 2019, when former German President Horst Koehler resigned for health reasons. During his tenure, Koehler managed to organize two rounds of contacts between the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front, but since he left office the situation has stalled.
Following his appointment, the Department headed by Albares said in a statement that “Spain supports the central role of the United Nations in the search for a solution in accordance with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter” and, therefore, “offers its full support to the new personal envoy of the Secretary-General in his role to promote understanding between the parties and stability in the region”.
