The Parliamentary Morocco-Italian Friendship Group, "Friends of Morocco", said Thursday it positively welcomed the Moroccan initiative to negotiate an autonomy statute for the Sahara. 

A group of young Sahrawis, having recently benefited from family visit exchange, decided to settle permanently in the province of Essmara. 

The work of the economic and social development promotion agency for the southern provinces (APDS) is "very positive," member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Juan Gabriel Callejon Baena, said here Friday.

A budget of MMAD 2.6 billion has been reserved by the National Office of Drinking Water (ONEP), for the 2009-2012 period, to support the growing needs of southern provinces in drinking water, said Wednesday the Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, Mrs Amina Benkhadra. 

Aerial view of the city of Smara

Morocco's stance on the Sahara issue has been boosted by the increasing international support for the Kingdom's autonomy proposal, said Sudanese paper "Al Rai Al'am".