Morocco's International agreements cover the whole territory, including the Southern provinces (Sahara), Minister
Morocco-USA, Politics, 7/30/2004

Moroccan Minister of Communication, Nabil Benabdallah, insisted on Thursday, that all international agreements concluded by Morocco cover the whole national territory of the Kingdom, including the Southern provinces known as the Sahara.

Answering a question on the recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, Benabdallah also spokesman of the Government, said that "vis-a-vis the International Community, Morocco commits itself on the basis of its unity, its administration, its territory and its economy."

The Minister who was speaking at a briefing following the weekly cabinet meeting, added that the "the Moroccan economic, customs, financial and fiscal systems are the same everywhere and are implemented without any exclusion over the whole national territory, including the Southern provinces."

The U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick was reportedly saying that the Sahara is not covered by the FTA, because of the dispute over the former Spanish colony opposing Morocco to the Algeria-backed separatist movement "Polisario." The latter is claiming sovereignty over this territory retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords signed with Spain and Mauritania.

Previous Stories:
  Calls to speed up Morocco-U.S. FTA implementation   (7/29/2004)
  Progress in Moroccan-Algerian talks on Sahara issue, U.S. ambassador   (7/29/2004)
  Morocco may be powerful symbol of development, Heritage Foundation   (7/24/2004)

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