Rabat – The 30th meeting of Foreign Ministers of the five Maghreban countries opened on Saturday in Rabat.
The meeting was attended by Secreatry General of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) Habib Ben Yahya, and Foreign Ministers of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, Saad Dine El Othmani, Mourad Medelci, Rafik Abdessalam and Achour Ben Khayal respectively as well as a Mauritanian delegation led by its Ambassador to Rabat.
Libyan Foreign minister, who chairs the current meeting, said that the recent political, social and economic development that are taking place in the region require working together with a view to enlarging prospects for a combined Maghreban action based on a clear approach that serves the peoples of the region.
Tunisia’s Foreign Ministers, for his part, described the present meeting as a defining moment in the Maghreban integration and complementarity process.
He lauded the full commitment of the five countries Maghreban countries to the AMU as well as their clear vision regarding the common action to revitalize the structures of their Union.
Echoing him, Algeria’s Foreign Minister said Maghreban countries are called upon to reinvigorate the structures and institution of AMU.
He put emphasis on the need to promote complementarity and economic integration according to a pragramatic and progressive approach that would herald a new era in the common regional action.
In this respect, Medelci voiced hope to see the current momentum in Maghreban relations open new prospects in line with the aspirations of the region’s peoples and the instructions of their heads of states.
In the same veine, El Othmani underscored that the Kingdom deems Maghreban integration as a constitutional priority and a strategic necessity at a time of regional groupings.
The Maghreban integration, he added, is a popular aspiration given the longstanding civilisational ties and the common destiny between the Maghreban peoples.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mauritani’s Foreign Minister Hammadi Ould Hammadi highlighted the need for fostering Maghreban common action.
