King calls Maghreb leaders to make up for lost time
Morocco-Maghreb, Politics, 2/18/2004

Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, has called on the other leaders of the Arab Maghreb Union to make up for the lost time and carry on the action aiming at materializing this union, a long-cherished dream by the people of the region.

The monarch made this call in a message to the leaders of this North African regional grouping, known by its French initials UMA, on the occasion of the celebration, this Tuesday, on the 15th anniversary of its creation on February 17, 1989 in Marrakech (South of Morocco).

The UMA is made up of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania. It ambitions to set up a regional economic grouping similar to the European Union but due to political differences among member countries, in particular Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara issue, this Union is still at a stalemate.

In his message, the king voiced "resolve to carry on the action" and called on the other leaders to "make up for the lost time" to achieve this goal in order to fulfill the Maghreb people's aspirations.

Morocco and its neighboring Algeria are at loggerheads over the future of the Western Sahara since 1976, a year after Morocco retrieved this former Spanish colony under the tripartite agreements signed with Spain and Mauritania, known as the Madrid Accords.

Algerian authorities, for geo-political reasons, sided with the separatist movement "Polisario Front" which is claiming independence of this territory, providing it with political, financial and military support.

Previous Stories:
  Building Maghreb union requires courage, Moroccan fm   (12/25/2003)
  No alternative to Maghreb Union, says Moroccan minister   (12/23/2003)
  Sahara issue settlement within Moroccan kingty key to Maghreb union, king Mohammed insists   (7/31/2003)

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