KUNA KUWAIT NEWS AGENCY
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud reaffirmed the solidarity of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states with the Kingdom of Morocco in all issues, notably the Western Sahara question.
The GCC states fully support Morocco’s efforts to protect its national interests and reject any infringement on its interests, King Salman said in his speech to the GCC-Moroccan summit meeting which opened here on Wednesday.
“The GCC states are keen on maintaining excellent ties with Morocco in all political, economic, defense and security fields,” he stressed.
King Salman appreciated Morocco’s support to the GCC issues, contribution to Kuwait liberation war (known also as the first Gulf War or Operation Desert Shield on 24-28 February 1991), and participation in the Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen and the Islamic coalition against terrorism.
“The GCC states and the Kingdom of Morocco are unanimous in serving the issues of the Arab and Muslim nations in the core of which are the Palestine question and the crises in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iraq,” he added.
On the conflict in Yemen he stressed the GCC keenness on finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict based on the GCC initiative, the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue.
He voiced hope that the warring parties in Yemen will engage in the peace talks in Kuwait in order to break the current stalemate and put an end to the bloodshed.
He also expressed hope that the current summit will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the GCC and Morocco in all areas.
On his part, Moroccan King Mohammad VI said the GCC-Moroccan partnership targets no third party and will not be at a cost to Morocco’s relations with other countries or regional blocs.
“Morocco, while maintaining its sovereignty and independence, seeks to build partnerships with other countries or alliances in order to serve the common interests based on respect for the sovereignty of other countries and their right to engage in alliances with a third country,” he said.
“The special relationship between Morocco and the GCC countries is based on shared values, same creed and language,” he said, noting that both sides maintain identical views on all regional issues, notably Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as the fight against terrorism.
“The two sides have a common interest in addressing the challenges that face the Arab region and put in peril the unity of the Arab nation; these challenges include the attempts of hostile forces to the foment sectarian sedition, instigate violence and associate terrorism with the Noble Islam – the faith of tolerance and coexistence,” King Mohammad VI said.
He called for scaling up the collective efforts to address these challenges and restore stability and security to the region.
King Mohammad VI recalled the progress of the GCC-Moroccan ties since the First Gulf War, saying that the defense and security cooperation grew remarkably and encouraged his country to take part in the Saudi-led Coalition to restore legitimacy to Yemen.
He thanked the GCC countries for their supportive stance on the issue of the Western Sahara and contribution to the development projects in Morocco. (end) yms.od.gb
