King Mohammed and Presdient Bouteflika expected to hold talks today in Algiers
Algeria-Morocco, Politics, 3/23/2005

King Mohammed VI of Morocco and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria are expected to hold talks, in ALgiers Wednesday, on the sidelines of the Arab Summit.

The announcement was made Tuesday evening at a press conference by Algeria's Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem who said "the climate is favorable for the holding of such meetings." He spoke about a "warming up" of relations between the two states noting that the monarch "feels at home" in Algeria.

Rabat and Algiers have been at loggerheads over the Sahara dispute due to the latter's political, diplomatic, military and financial support to the Polisario guerrilla movement that is seeking to separate Morocco's Southern provinces, known as the Sahara, from the rest of the North African country. A former Spanish colony, the Sahara was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 by virtue of the Madrid Accords it signed with Spain and Mauritania.

The Algerian minister also announced the holding of meetings between the leaders of the five-member countries of the Arab Maghreb Union, known by its French acronym UMA. The North African regional grouping made up of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania is facing a stalemate due to the Sahara dispute.

The king's visit to Algiers, the first since his enthronement in 1999, has been welcomed by both countries' media which hope it will help normalize ties between the two neighbors. (MAP)MK

Previous Stories:
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