Foreign Ministers of the five Maghreban countries unanimously called for reinvigorating and modernising the structures and action mechanisms of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU).
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday following the Foreign Ministers meeting of AMU countries in Rabat, Algeria’s Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, underscored that conditions are henceforth propitious for a multi-sectoral cooperation including areas of security.
Evoking the vexed Western Sahara issue, Mr Medelci said the Algerian and Moroccan authorities had both agreed to respect each other’s respective stand on the issue stressing that the latter must be resolved by the United Nations in conformity with the Organization’s relevant resolutions and international legality.
Concerning ongoing efforts designed to bolster the unity of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), Mr Medelci said that a new meeting of Maghreban Foreign Ministers will be held to define the mechanisms and set objectives sought in their cooperation which will be geared, inter alia, to preserving regional stability and combating terrorism, trans-border crime and stamping out arms trafficking and illegal immigration.
For his part, Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem proposed building on achievements in order to overcome obstacles to the consolidation of the Maghreban union.
Mr Rafik Abdessalem, who highlighted the common political willingness to foster the Maghreban action, called for expanding the prerogatives of the AMU’s Foreign Ministers Council and revitalising the mechanisms of consultation between Maghreban states.
