Addis Ababa, 30 January 2012 (MAP)
Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani on Sunday said Morocco and Algeria have agreed to adopt a new approach to promote their cooperation.
“What is new in this approach is that it focuses on areas of agreement and seeks to undertake a dialogue on points of discord, according to means that we will agree upon later,” El Othmani told Moroccan television channel “Medi1 TV” by telephone.
This dialogue, which will be initiated in the medium term and will be of strategic importance, aims to resolve contentious issues, El Othmani said, adding that this new approach was welcomed by Algeria.
It is the first time, El Othmani said, that Morocco and Algeria agree on a comprehensive action plan providing for regular consultations between the two countries.
It was agreed, in this context, to hold twice-a-year meetings between the foreign ministers of both countries, as well as the Joint Committee in 2012, he said.
According to El Othmani, both parties are fully aware of the importance of the current situation and the need to promote cooperation for the resolution of difficult issues that threaten stability in sub-Saharan Africa.
Describing as “successful” the talks he held with his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci, with Secretary General of the National Liberation Front, Abdelaziz Belkhadem, and with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Minister said he had felt among Algerian officials, the same desire expressed repeatedly by HM King Mohammed VI, for the construction of the great Maghreb and the strengthening of bilateral relations.
He also stressed the need to ensure economic complementarity between the two friendly countries, particularly at the Arab Maghreb Union level, noting that the current situation has a negative effect on the rate of growth in the Maghreb.
On the choice of Algeria for his first official visit abroad, the minister said the government should stick, in its relations with its external environment, to the priorities established by the Constitution in foreign policy, which gives priority to the great Maghreb, the Arab-Muslim world and Africa.
