Rabat - Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita on Tuesday as part of the Morocco’s mediation efforts in the Gulf crisis.
Rabat – Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita on Tuesday as part of the Morocco’s mediation efforts in the Gulf crisis.
At the meeting, Bourita delivered a verbal message from King Mohammed VI to King Salman. Morocco’s chief diplomat is expected to arrive in Doha to meet with Qatar officials.
Riyadh is the third stop in Bourita’s trip to Gulf countries to mediate the current diplomatic wrangling between Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. The Moroccan minister visited Abu Dhabi first on Monday where he was Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy.
He then headed on Tuesday to Kuwait, where he met Emir Sabah IV Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Bourita expressed Morocco’s support for Kuwait’s attempts to mediate an end to the crisis between the Gulf countries.
The Gulf is currently witnessing its worse crisis in years. On June 5 Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain announced they were cutting ties with Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism, which they said threatened the security of the Gulf.
The three countries imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar, and Qatari nationals were ordered to leave Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini soil.
Morocco, who enjoys exceptional relationships with the four countries, offered its mediation to solve the dispute. A communiqué by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday outlined the Kingdom’s position vis-à-vis the crisis.
“Because there are strong personal ties of sincere fraternity and mutual consideration between King Mohammed VI […] and His brother Kings and Emirs of the Gulf countries, the Kingdom of Morocco has been careful not to pay into public statements and hasty statements which only reinforce discord and deepen differences,” said the statement.
