Washington, May 12, 2012 (MAP)
Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El Otmani and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Joseph Burns met Friday at the State Department in Washington, as part of regular political consultations between Morocco and the United States.
In a statement to news agency MAP, El Otmani said “the meeting focused on Moroccan-US relations, as well as follow-up of what had been agreed during the visit to Morocco of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in February, and my trip to Washington a few weeks later.”
The Minister noted that during this meeting, the focus was put on the Sahara issue and the assessment of the process aiming to find a settlement under the U.N. aegis, in light of the latest report of the U.N. Secretary-General on the issue.
Preparations for the Moroccan and American businessmen Forum, to be held soon in Washington, were also examined by El Otmani and Burns.
Both sides also discussed regional issues including the crisis in Syria “where violence continues despite the beginning of the implementation of the plan of the U.N.-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan.”
These talks were held in the presence of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb, Raymond Maxwell.
