🇲🇦MoroccoNorth Africa
Austria supports UN Security Council Resolution 2797 on Moroccan Sahara
via Le Matin1 min read
Austria has affirmed its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2797 concerning the Moroccan Sahara. This stance was documented in a joint communiqué adopted in Vienna following a meeting between Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, and Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, who was on a working visit to Austria. The joint communiqué also noted Austria's commendation of Resolution 2797, which fully backs the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to facilitate and conduct negotiations based on the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco. The goal is to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. Austria welcomed Morocco's willingness to clarify how autonomy within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty would be implemented. This strengthened position from Austria reinforces the growing international consensus, driven by King Mohammed VI, in favor of the Moroccan identity of the Sahara and in support of the Autonomy Initiative, which was recognized by the UN Security Council's adoption of Resolution 2797 on October 31, 2025.
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Morocco has officially launched its national Supply Chain Finance SCF strategy to address the critical working capital financing needs of its very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises TPME. These businesses represent 99.5% of companies and over 70% of formal employment but contribute only 36.3% to GDP and 20.1% to exports, largely due to extended payment terms, fragile cash flow, and limited access to financing. SCF aims to facilitate funding at various stages of the economic cycle by leveraging commercial relationships between principals, suppliers, and financial institutions. This includes tools like factoring, reverse factoring, and financing for purchase orders, inventory, or distributors. Abderrahim Bouazza, Director General of Bank Al-Maghrib, emphasized that SCF builds trust, improves risk assessment, and optimizes corporate cash management. The potential SCF market in Morocco is estimated at over 80 billion dirhams, yet current outstanding amounts are only around 6 billion, less than 10% of this potential. This contrasts with international dynamics where factoring can represent up to 11% of GDP in some European countries, compared to 2-3% in Morocco. The International Finance Corporation IFC, a technical partner, sees this as a strategic opportunity to provide SMEs with faster, cheaper, and more suitable financing while securing supply chains for large companies. The strategy is particularly relevant given current global instability, including geopolitical tensi
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