French development agency to invest in Morocco-ruled Western Sahara

The French Development Agency (AFD) said it would invest 150 million euros ($167 million) in Western Sahara in 2025-2026, following Paris' recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed desert territory.

The long-frozen conflict, dating back to 1975, pits Morocco, which considers the territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario front, which seeks an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic in Western Sahara.

The investment was announced on Monday following a visit to the Moroccan capital Rabat and to Western Sahara by AFD chief Remy Rioux, who met members of the cabinet and local officials, AFD said in a statement.

The funds will be directed at environmental and water supply projects among other social and economic development programmes, it said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has backed Morocco's sovereignty over the North African territory and supported its autonomy plan as the only solution to the conflict.

He paid a visit to Rabat in October during which deals worth over $10 billion were signed.

France said it will also open a cultural centre and a consular service to process visa applications from the territory.

Relations between France and Algeria worsened after Macron's support for Rabat's position on Western Sahara.

Since 2020, Morocco has won backing from the U.S. and the territory's former colonial power Spain, as well as Israel and more than two dozen African and Arab nations.

The UN Security Council has been calling in recent resolutions on the parties to negotiate a "political" and "mutually acceptable" solution to the conflict.

The Polisario withdrew from a U.N.-brokered truce but the conflict remains of low intensity.