UMA: Libya says No Maghreb without Morocco & Mauritania
Chairman of Libya’s Presidential Council Mohamed Yunes El-Menfi has sent a written message to King Mohammed VI following the 2nd tripartite summit convened by Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya in the absence of Morocco and Mauritania.
The Libyan message was handed over to Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita by El-Menfi’s brother and personal envoy during a meeting held Tuesday in Rabat.
According to Assahifa daily, the Tripoli message, which comes in less than 24 hours after the Tunis tripartite summit, affirms that “there is no Arab Maghreb without Morocco and Mauritania”, dealing a hard blow to those seeking to break up the Arab Maghreb Union and steering it into unchartered waters.
In his message, Mohamed El Menfi expressed the Libyan Presidential Council’s attachment to the revival of the Arab Maghreb Union as the ONLY framework for Maghreb countries seeking integration, stability and prosperity, said the paper.
This is the 2nd time that Libya stands firm against the Algerian regime’s destabilizing plots, sowing more divisions in the Maghreb, fueling more tension in the region, and threatening peace and stability.
On the sidelines of a forum of gas exporting countries held last month in Algiers, the Presidents of Algeria, Tunisia and Head of Libya’s Presidential Council held a meeting described by Algerian state media as a prelude to the establishment of a new Maghreb, excluding Rabat and Nouakchott.
In a statement published lately by Al-Marsad newspaper, the Libyan Presidential Council had said: “We were surprised by Algerian President’s talk to the media about an agreement reached with him and Tunisia to form a Maghreb entity gathering the three countries”.
A Presidential Council source, cited by the daily, had said the first tripartite summit convened in Algiers focused on joint security and economic cooperation, borders management and various other issues, especially the situation in Gaza.
The Libyan Presidential Council had also affirmed that “it stands on the same distance from all brothers in the Maghreb countries and supports their unity, sovereignty and the settlement of differences through constructive dialogue and rejects any dispute that will affect the region in general and Libya in particular”.
Following the meeting between Sami El Menfi and Bourita, Libya’s Chargé d’Affaires in Rabat Aboubaker Ibrahim Ataweel told the media that the Libyan envoy’s visit reaffirms the excellence of the brotherlyrelations between Libya and Morocco.
He expressed his country’s gratitude to Morocco for its constant and ongoing support, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, for the Libyan issue, which is reflected through the multiple agreements on Libya concluded in the Kingdom, especially those of Skhirat, Bouznika, and Tangier.
Morocco has actively contributed to the resolution of the Libyan crisis and provided full support for the conclusion of a series of agreements, he recalled, noting that the Skhirat Agreement in 2015 remains the cornerstone and a reference for resolving the Libyan issue.
