Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage UK companies to invest in Morocco’s Western Sahara region, in the context of (a) levels of (i) economic growth and (ii) infrastructure development in the region and (b) the UK-Morocco association agreement.

It is for companies to make their own decisions regarding investments in Western Sahara, as in any other region, based on the information available to them including from the Department of Business and Trade.

Products originating in Western Sahara, subject to controls by customs authorities of Morocco, benefit from the same trade preferences as those granted by the United Kingdom to products covered by the UK-Morocco Association Agreement. The application of the Agreement is without prejudice to our position on the status of Western Sahara. The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.