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Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco and Tunisia’s PM met at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to a press statement of the Tunisian government, El Othmani said after the meeting that “the relations between the two countries are distinctive and must be developed, especially that the region is facing difficult challenges in a complex regional and international situation and difficult to predict its developments.”
The dynamism of bilateral relations, El Othmani said, “is mainly reflected in the work of the joint technical committees, which study the promotion of economic cooperation, cultural and student exchanges as well as certain commercial issues between the two countries.”
El Othmani considered that these efforts are not enough and need to be further developed in a way to resolve the issues discussed.
He also called for reinforcing cooperation of the private sector in both countries and raising the level of scientific research between them.
Both officials of Morocco and Tunisia were attending the 108th Session of the International Labour Conference which coincided with the centenary celebrations of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Read also: Tarek Bouchamaoui, Tunisia’s Most Influential Member of CAF
The meeting comes after unfriendly statements from Chahed, who politicized a football issue between Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) and Esperance Sportive de Tunis (EST).
Last week, the Tunisian minister posted a tweet on his official account disapproving the CAF executive body’s decision to replay the match between the two clubs in South Africa due to security measures.
“After the CAF farce: salutation to our army and police, who have been a good example for all the world, and whoever is talking about this should take responsibility for it,” he wrote.
“Salutation to ES Tunis fans, they were great at the last game. We will not give up on ES Tunis’ rights or any Tunisian association’s rights,” he added.
The post did not go unnoticed in Morocco with many Moroccans criticizing the Tunisian official’s involvement in a sports matter that falls out of his remit.
During the second leg of the African Champions League, WAC players experienced arbitrary refereeing mistakes in favor of the Tunisian team. The referee, Gassama Bakary, refused WAC’s legitimate goal at the 58th minute of play. WAC players then requested a review of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to learn that it was not working due to a technical issue.
Moroccan players subsequently refused to continue playing until the issue had been fixed.
After more than an hour of waiting, the referee surprised players by signaling the end of the game, thus, declaring EST winners of the CAF Champions League.
A decision has been reached by CAF to replay the match which has led to increased tension between Morocco and Tunisia’s media, provoking a journalistic war including numerous journalists and former players denouncing the decision.
