King Mohammed VI said in a speech to the Moroccan people on Monday that «the celebration of the glorious Throne Day was a moment of affirmation of our firm attachment to our Moroccan Sahara, our national unity and territorial integrity and our full sovereignty over every inch of our kingdom». «I am proud of all that our country has achieved at the United Nations and at the African and European levels», he said. The king stressed that Morocco «remains resolutely and earnestly committed to the political process, under the exclusive aegis of the United Nations Organization» and that it is «clear in terms of its fundamental convictions : the way to achieve the desired settlement can be none other than through Moroccan full sovereignty and within the framework of the autonomy initiative». «The security and development challenges facing us cannot be tackled by any country on its own», the sovereign said. «I wish to reaffirm our sincere commitment to the policy of the outstretched hand towards our Algerian brothers, out of loyalty to the bonds rooted in brotherhood, religion, language and good-neighborliness that have always existed between the peoples of the two sister nations». «This was shown recently by the sincere and spontaneous manifestations of friendliness and support expressed by Morocco for the Algerian national football team at the African Cup of Nations held in our sister country, Egypt», he acknowledged, adding that «Moroccans shared in the Algerian people's joy and pride when their national team deservedly won the Cup. It was as if Morocco had won, too».
