US Congressman Coble calls for strengthening U.S. support to Morocco
Morocco-USA, Politics, 2/10/2000

US Congressman Howard Coble (republican of North Carolina) called for strengthening of U.S. support for Morocco, that he described as "our oldest friend," and said, "We need to be more aware that this is a real jewel in North Africa."

Coble, who was among a congressional delegation that visited Morocco last January, said the trip was "very enjoyable and informative."

"We visited Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Laayoune in Morocco's southern provinces where we met with people and spent the night, and I don't think I'd ever forget that. I don't think I could have written a script for a better trip," the congressman said.

Coble who was received along with the congressional delegation by king Mohammed VI, said he was impressed by the King who is "young, energetic, very focused and very much on top of what we were talking about." "He is a very able leader," said the veteran congressman.

He also said that what struck him most was the fact that the Moroccan people are industrious. "Wherever we were, in Casablanca or Marrakech, we saw a very vibrant commercial activity in progressive markets as well as in traditional ones," the congressman said, noting that he was really charmed by the Jamma el Fna square in Marrakech, which is "full of life."

Last year, a group of 110 members of the US House of Representatives and Senate set up an association that they called "Friends of Morocco in the United States Congress."

The 110 Republican and Democratic signatory congressmen, including the speaker of the House of Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert, underscored Morocco's resolve to foster the advancement of justice, democracy and human rights nationally and through its role in the international community.

The statement announcing the association's creation had pointed out that the United States and Morocco have shared an uninterrupted period of friendship and "continue to share common values of liberty, democracy and peace as well as common interests and goals in global security, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean region." They also insisted on Morocco's role as a stable and free country for the maintaining of stability in the Maghreb region and its environs.

The move followed suit to a letter sent to US chief executive Bill Clinton in July 1998. A total of 92 senators and members of the House of Representatives had urged Clinton "to undertake all appropriate steps to strengthen American-Moroccan cooperation" on the basis of shared values and interests, in view of the close link existing between stability, security and economic development."

Clinton had responded in a letter to the congressmen that the two countries share a common resolve to advance peace, stability, prosperity and democracy.

Previous Stories:
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