LONDON, April 16 (KUNA) — British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt and Minster for Africa and the UN Henry Bellingham met Moroccan Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs, Youssef Amrani to discuss bilateral and regional issues.
Following the meeting Burt said the UK and Morocco have a strong relationship, and work closely together on a range of shared priorities.
The two sides discussed the ongoing political reforms in Morocco, which the UK strongly supports, Burt said in a statement.
Through the UK’s Arab Partnership Programme Britain is supporting the Moroccan Government’s commitment to fight corruption and promote political participation, particularly for civil society, youth, and the media.
Britain encourages Morocco to continue to play a leading role in efforts to revive the Arab Maghreb Union, which Burt “believes is vital for ensuring the long-term security and prosperity of all countries of the Maghreb”.
In addition, the recent events in Syria, which remain of great concern to both our governments was among other issues tackled.
The two countries agreed to continue to work closely together in the UN and to offer our full support to Kofi Annan’s efforts to find a resolution, the statement added.
On Western Sahara, Burt assured Amrani that the “UK remains engaged on human rights, and will continue to support the political negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Ambassador Christopher Ross”.
Meanwhile, Amrani and Bellingham discussed for their part security in the Sahel and Morocco’s role as a major peace-keeping troop contributing country.
Bellingham said he welcomed the opportunity to meet Amrani while he was in London.
They discussed the recent instability in Mali and the UK shared its concern about spreading to the wider West Africa region.
The meeting was a welcome opportunity to gain Morocco’s insight on the crisis, and to discuss the role of regional and international bodies to address instability in Mali and the wider Sahel, the British minister for Africa said.
They also discussed Morocco’s bilateral activities in the region.
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