Morocco | Algeria Agrees to Western Sahara Autonomy Plan After Years of Stalemate
Oasis Media Collective | North Africa Wire | February 10, 2026
RABAT, MOROCCO — After years of stalemate, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Polisario Front met in Madrid, Spain under UN and U.S. auspices to revive peace talks over the Western Sahara. The focus was on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which endorses Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan as the reference framework.
The four North African parties agreed to form a “Permanent Technical Committee,” composed of Moroccan, Algerian, and Mauritanian legal experts to oversee the proposal’s implementation, with additional oversight from the UN and U.S. A roadmap has since been agreed upon to determine the next round of peace negotiations.
The Western Sahara has long been a geopolitical flashpoint in the Maghreb region, specifically between Morocco and Algeria. While Rabat administers the territory, Algiers is a longtime supporter of the Polisario Front, a political movement calling for the self-determination of the Western Sahara. A breakdown in peace talks occurred in 2019, leading to heightened tensions between the two neighboring North African states.
Since last year, Morocco has stepped up its diplomatic engagement in the dispute, gaining support from a wide array of countries such as Sweden for its autonomy plan, which grants the territory self-governing status under Moroccan sovereignty. Although Algeria has long been a critic of the proposal, it has since recalibrated, accepting it as the foundation for negotiations toward a final settlement.
In 2020, the U.S. recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara as part of Rabat’s signing of the Abraham Accords, in which the Kingdom would normalize relations with Israel. U.S. President Trump reaffirmed his support for Morocco’s sovereignty last August.
This reporting may be cited with attribution to Oasis Media Collective. For licensing, republication, or extended use, contact here.