Morocco Western Sahara Kuwait Spain Economic Resources

Pedro Sánchez’s shift on Western Sahara continues to spark debate in Spain. Four years after Madrid’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan, critical voices are returning to the strategic and economic consequences of this decision.

On Bladi.net : Morocco-Spain: a comprehensive offer from Morocco for the Sahara and the Canary Islands?

During a summer course at CEU María Cristina dedicated to the Spanish economy in the current geopolitical context, several speakers denounced the Spanish government’s change of position on the former colony.

Felipe Briones, a Spanish magistrate, criticized a decision he presents as personal and not validated by Parliament. For him, Madrid broke with its traditional position by supporting Western Sahara’s autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

A territory deemed very rich

But the debate is not only about law or diplomacy. Carlos Echevarría, professor of international relations at UNED and director of the Observatory of Ceuta and Melilla, believes that Western Sahara could become a "little Kuwait" in northwestern Africa due to its natural wealth, according to El Debate.

According to him, Morocco would have "doubled its territorial extension" before Spain’s eyes. The academic links this development to the territory’s resources, but also to regional balances with Algeria, Mauritania and neighboring Atlantic waters.

Another speaker, Antonio Alonso, mentioned Moroccan claims around the seabed near the Canary Islands, presented as rich in strategic minerals. The subject is sensitive in Spain, where the potential riches of this zone regularly fuel concerns.

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The Spanish article shows above all that Western Sahara remains perceived in Madrid as a major strategic issue. Behind the contestation of Pedro Sánchez’s choice, there is also an economic concern: seeing Morocco consolidate its presence on a territory presented by its detractors as rich in natural resources.