(MENAFN) The United Kingdom has officially supported Morocco’s initiative to grant limited self-governance to Western Sahara, concluding decades of its neutral stance on one of North Africa’s longest-running territorial conflicts.

During a visit to Rabat, Morocco’s capital, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy revealed this change in policy on Sunday.

There, he met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and finalized multiple cooperation agreements covering areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, and water resource management.

Lammy emphasized that “The UK… considers Morocco’s autonomy proposal, submitted in 2007 as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute,” as stated in a joint communiqué posted on the British government’s website after their discussions.

The dispute over Western Sahara has endured since Morocco took control of the area in 1975 after Spain withdrew.

Although a UN-mediated ceasefire was put in place in 1991, attempts to organize a referendum to determine the region’s future have repeatedly faltered.

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