[ecr]

This three-day forum, organized by the Polisario Front’s Youth Union, welcomes between 190 and 220 participants, including international youth organizations, representatives of political parties and friends of the Sahrawi people from 31 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

At the opening of the works, the secretary general of the Youth Union of the Polisario Front, Ali Mohamed Salem, said that the third International Youth Forum of Solidarity with Western Sahara is a basis for dialogue, continuity and implementation of joint programs, and is an opportunity to show solidarity and more support to the Sahrawi people's struggle for freedom and independence.

He also stressed that the Forum is also an opportunity to make the Sahrawi cause known and mobilize international support in its favour.

For his part, the representative of the Polisario Front in Spain, Abdellah Arabi, emphasized the predominant role played by the Sahrawi youths in the struggle of the Sahrawi people against colonial oppression.[/ecr]