German parliamentary delegation in Morocco
Morocco-Germany, Politics, 4/5/2002

A visiting delegation from the foreign affairs committee at the Bundestag (German parliament) conferred here Wednesday with several Moroccan officials on bilateral relations and on the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.

The delegation, led by the committee vice-chairman, Carl-Dieter Spranger, held separate talks with the speakers of the two chambers of the Moroccan parliament, Abdelouahed Radi and Moustapha Oukacha, minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, and minister of economy, finance, privatization and tourism, Fathallah Oualalou. During the meeting with Benaissa, the German mps voiced sadness and worry at the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people and the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, pointing out that the United states must intervene to calm down the situation.

They called for a halt to violence as a prerequisite to the resumption of negotiations to settle the problem that they described as complex and said they do not know how to stop (Israeli Premier) Sharon who no longer heeds the Europeans.

Benaissa told the German mps that the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the offices of Palestinian president Yasser Arafat is Sharon's response to the Arab peace initiative unanimously adopted by the Beirut summit (March 27-28). He also "surveyed the intense diplomatic efforts made by Morocco to stop the massacre of the Palestinian people and asserted that Morocco will carry on these efforts. "

Moroccan-German talks also covered the democratic process and the reforms underway in several sectors in Morocco and the investment opportunities offered by the kingdom. The German delegation is visiting Morocco (April 2-7) part of a Maghreban tour that will also lead it to Algeria and Libya. The tour is meant to foster dialogue with the countries of the southern Mediterranean, especially on foreign policy and security matters, following the terror attacks of September 11 and the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East.

Previous Stories:
  German deputy foreign minister confers with Moroccan officials   (2/12/2002)
  German foreign affairs official holds talks in Morocco   (2/11/2002)
  German deputy-foreign minister visits Morocco   (2/7/2002)

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