London, 11 August 2025 (SPS) – The British news outlet Middle East Eye shed light on the visit of the Sahrawi Foreign Minister, Mohamed Yeslem Beisset, to the United Kingdom and his discussions with Hamish Falconer, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The talks focused on the latest developments regarding the UN-led peace process in occupied Western Sahara.
The news site noted that this meeting between the Sahrawi delegation and the British minister in London comes "amid growing international efforts to address the Western Sahara conflict."
The report highlighted that the head of the Sahrawi delegation, Mohamed Yeslem Beisset, is the Foreign Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)—a member of the African Union recognized by dozens of countries—and is "the highest-ranking Polisario Front official to be invited by the British government for official meetings."
On this occasion, Middle East Eye provided a brief overview of the Western Sahara conflict, which the UN classifies as a non-self-governing territory.
The report also recalled the 1991 ceasefire agreement between the two parties to the conflict (Morocco and the Polisario Front), which was supposed to lead to a self-determination referendum for the Sahrawi people—though this has yet to materialize.
In this context, the outlet emphasized that the UN does not recognize Morocco’s claimed "sovereignty" over Western Sahara.
In remarks to Middle East Eye, Sahrawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Yeslem Beisset criticized Morocco’s attempts to cement the colonial reality in Western Sahara through its so-called "autonomy plan," stating:
"The Moroccan proposal is 17 years old. I don’t know how anyone can take a spoiled product out of the fridge and try to sell it as fresh and healthy."
Mohamed Yeslem Beisset added that he told Falconer last Tuesday that "the Polisario Front is very open to working with the UK to find a settlement based on international legality." The British minister reportedly affirmed that "self-determination is a very important principle for the UK."
The report also featured comments from Riccardo Fabiani, Project Director for North Africa at the International Crisis Group (NGO dedicated to conflict prevention), who said, "Conditions are favorable for the UK to play a constructive role" in the Sahrawi issue, as it "could act as a mediator and facilitator to pave the way for the UN envoy to resume negotiations" between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
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