Moroccan-Algerian Relations “at Lowest Level”- FM

Moroccan Algerian relations are stagnant at their lowest level with no bilateral visits planned for Seven Years, deplored Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita.

Speaking to Jeune Afrique Magazine, Bourita said that Moroccan-Algerian ties remain static and that the Arab Maghreb Union has not held meetings in years making it one of the least integrated groupings in the continent.

He deplored Algeria’s hostility to Morocco’s quest to retake its legitimate place at the African institutional family. Algiers led anti-Moroccan campaigns deploying its diplomacy and media, he said.

In the interview, Bourita ranged over a number of topical issues of concern to Morocco and over the kingdom’s relations with its neighbors and partners.

On Mauritania, Bourita said that Morocco maintains close ties with its southern neighbor marked by neighborliness and cooperation.

With the European Union, Bourita highlighted the over 50-year old partnership, adding that despite occasional disagreements the two parties maintain dialogue and find solutions that further reinforce Moroccan-EU ties.

Concerning the Canary Islands, Bourita said that the controversy surrounding the demarcation of maritime boundaries was resolved. Morocco proceeded to updating its legal texts governing all its territorial waters. These texts, which date back to the 1970s and early 1980s, had to be reviewed and adapted to new realities as well as the International Law of the Sea, he said.