Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed, Monday in Washington, to hold the next session of the Morocco-U.S. Strategic Dialogue next year in the U.S. federal capital. Bourita and Pompeo, who met at the State Department, discussed "opportunities to expand our strong economic and security cooperation, including joint efforts to end Iran's support for terrorism and counter its negative influence in the region," said the U.S. diplomacy. During the meeting, which took place in the presence of the king's ambassador in Washington, Lalla Joumala Alaoui, the two officials also reviewed other regional and international issues. It is worth to mention that in the wake of Bourita's working visit to Washington, the United States reiterated that the autonomy plan for the Sahara is "serious", "realistic" and "credible", stressing that this plan is capable of satisfying the aspirations of the populations of the Sahara "to manage their own affairs in peace and dignity". "We maintain that it (the autonomy plan) is serious, realistic and credible and that it is able to satisfy the aspirations of the populations of the Sahara to manage their own affairs in peace and dignity," said Pablo Rodriguez, an official at the State Department, in a statement to MAP-Washington. The Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara "represents a potential approach to resolving the Sahara issue," he stressed.
