King Mohammed VI holds phone talks with Tunisian president
Morocco-Tunisia, Politics, 12/11/2004

King Mohammed VI on Friday held phone talks with Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on latest development in the region and the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

The two heads of state hailed the similarity of viewpoints.

The talks were held after Libya announced on Wednesday that it is renouncing the UMA chairmanship over what it called in an official release "the repeated violations by some member countries of the Union founding treaty and of agreements concluded between member states."

Libya cited the frozen UMA activities and mechanisms, the inefficiency of specialized commissions, and failure to implement agreements reached by the member states, particularly those related to the UMA citizens free movement, labour, stay and property.

The Tunisia president had also on Thursday talked on the phone with Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi to whom he expressed his country's "strong worries" over the decision.

Set up in Marrakesh in 1989 by Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, the union held its last summit in 1994 in Tunis while its statute provides for a summit to convene once a year alternately in each of the five member countries.

A summit was slated on December 23 in Algeria but was put off because of divergences between member states, mainly between Algeria and Morocco over Algeria's direct backing to the separatist Polisario movement, as well as between Libya and Mauritania which accuses Libya of supporting authors of a failed coup attempt.

The sovereign is presently in the Dominican Republic where he will hold talks on Sunday with president Leonel Fernandez after a tour in five Latin American countries.

Previous Stories:
  Tunisia hails Morocco's decision to lift visa requirements for Algerians   (8/4/2004)
  King Mohammed arrives in Tunis   (5/22/2004)
  Message from Morocco's King to Tunisian President   (4/20/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search