Rabat – Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita arrived in Algeria on Saturday to attend the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers of Arab states, as part of preparations for the upcoming Arab League Summit to be held in Algiers.
Bourita arrived in Algiers and was received by an Algerian delegation, footage circulated online shows.
The visit is notable as Algeria unilaterally cut ties with Morocco in August 2021, accusing its neighbor of undermining its stability. Algiers blamed Morocco for wildfires that year, which were triggered in various countries around the Mediterranean by high temperatures and low perspiration.
The two countries have had tensions for decades, particularly fueled by Algeria’s support for the separatist Polisario front seeking independence in the Western Sahara region.
Morocco has remained open to dialogue since the cutting of ties, as stated by King Mohammed VI in several official speeches. Still, the Algerian regime seems less receptive, with its army magazine El Djeich stating back in August that there will be “no peace with Morocco.”
Earlier this month, Jeune Afrique reconfirmed its earlier reports that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI would be attending the summit in Algeria between November 1-2. Algeria had extended the Moroccan monarch an invite to attend in September.
Algeria also ended rumors that the Polisario front would be participating in the summit, with the permanent representative to the UN Nadir Larbaoui calling them “false and baseless news.”
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