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Rabat – The Arab Summit, scheduled to take place in Algiers this coming March, is still missing a beginning date, sparking speculation over the cause of this unprecedented delay.
In light of the Arab League’s adoption of a full Moroccan map, as well as Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra’s visits to Gulf countries and Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune’s visit to Egypt, there have been suggestions that Algeria’s tensions with Morocco are behind the delay.
Gulf countries have previously stated and renewed their support of Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the Western Sahara region, which many predicted would spark fears of political isolation for the Algerian regime.
Additionally, the Arab League also mandated that all its events must display the full map of Morocco, displaying its southern borders with Mauritania, meaning that Algeria will be forced to display said map during the event.
The two significant shifts in favor of Morocco’s position have made the Algerian regime’s fears about isolation greater, according to reports.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously paid a visit to Egypt to meet with his counterpart Abdelfattah al-Sisi, where it was predicted that he would try to enlist Egypt’s help to encourage greater participation in the summit from the Gulf countries.
This is also the reason that a date for the summit has not been set this close to the event, according to reports and political commentators.
In addition to Tebboune’s visit, Lamamra has also paid similar visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in a similar bid to garner support ahead of the summit.
The summit will be held in the midst of great diplomatic tensions in the region, especially between Algeria and its neighbor Morocco.
Last year saw a spate of serious accusations against Morocco from the Algerian regime, including accusations of playing a part in the country’s wildfire crisis.
When unilaterally cutting diplomatic relations with Morocco in August of last year, the Algerian regime cited claims of a Morocco-sponsored plot to undermine Algerian interests and “destabilize Algeria.”
Morocco rejected the “baseless” and “unfounded” claims, noting that it would remain on friendly terms with the Algerian people despite increasingly unbridgeable divergences with the Algerian regime.
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