MARKET NEWS

By Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT, June 5 (Reuters) - Ghana said on Thursday it views a Moroccan autonomy plan as the sole basis to settle the Western Sahara dispute within the framework of the UN, aligning itself with a growing number of Western, African and Arab countries that back Rabat's position on the dispute.
The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the desert territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario front, which seeks an independent state there.

Ghana considers the autonomy plan "as the only realistic and sustainable basis to a mutually agreed solution to the issue," said a joint statement issued after talks between Ghana's foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita in Rabat.

The UN should remain the exclusive framework for finding a solution to the issue, the statement said.
The position was expressed few days after similar stands by Kenya and the UK, reflecting a diplomatic shift in Morocco's favour.
Ghana and Morocco also agreed to promote defense cooperation and work on a visa waiver deal.