Morocco 'invited' to resume mediation in the Mano River region, FM
Morocco-Regional, Politics, 6/17/2005

Morocco has received an "invitation" to resume mediation between countries of the African Mano River Union, revealed Thursday, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Mohamed Benaissa.

Benaissa who was speaking after a meeting with his Guinean counterpart Mrs. Sidibe Fatoumata Kaba on the sidelines of the second Summit of the G-77 "China which ended today in the Qatari capital, Doha, said that the North African country received "an invitation to resume its auspices, after the elections in Liberia, in order to restore a lasting peace and stability in this region."

He told MAP that talks focused on means to "activate consultations" on what was agreed upon since the holding in Morocco of a Summit that brought together, under the aegis of HM King Mohammed VI, the heads of state of the member countries of the Mano River Union

The Moroccan monarch conducted, in collaboration with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a mediation within the framework of the 2002 Rabat Summit, to initiate dialogue between Liberia and Sierra Leone, in order to avoid further conflicts in the Mano River sub-region.

The Mano River Union, consisting of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, was established in 1973 to constitute a customs and economic union between the member states in order to improve living standards.

Since 1990, sustained conflict in the Mano River basin has spread across borders and engulfed the region in a severe humanitarian crisis.

Previous Stories:
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  UN reform should be factor of rapprochement, not division, Moroccan FM   (6/15/2005)
  Morocco readies to host second summit of Mano River countries   (7/20/2002)

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