President Ben Ali starts first official visit to Morocco
Tunisia-Morocco, Politics, 3/13/1999

President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia will start on Monday a two-day official visit to Morocco at the invitation of King Hassan II, it was officially announced in Tunis on Friday.

The visit is of particular importance, as it is the first official trip that Ben Ali makes to Morocco since coming to power in 1987, the source said.

The visit, which is part of the efforts meant to consolidate the centuries-old ties existing between Morocco and Tunisia, reflects the political will of the two states' heads of state and materializes the aspirations of the Moroccan and Tunisian peoples.

It will be an opportunity to examine means of boosting bilateral cooperation, especially in economic and cultural fields, the Tunisian source said, specifying that the creation of a bilateral free trade area will be one of the major topics to be discussed during Ben Ali's visit.

The Moroccan-Tunisian joint business committee held a meeting in Rabat earlier this week to draw the broad lines of the agreement on the free trade area.

The covenant that will be submitted to the high joint commission next July, is expected to bring up trade exchange between the two states from the current $103 million to more than $200 million.

The situation in the Maghreb and the future prospects of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) are also on the agenda, the Tunisian source said.

The UMA, set up in 1989 in Marrakesh, musters Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. The union is paralyzed due to strained relations between Morocco and Algeria over Algiers' direct involvement in the Sahara issue and due to Libya's criticism of the attitude adopted by the other UMA members in the Lockerbie crisis opposing Tripoli to western countries.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan-Tunisian joint information commission meets in Rabat   (3/12/1999)
  Tunisian president's coming visit to Morocco will positively impact Arab Maghreb, diplomat   (3/8/1999)
  Tunisian president in Morocco next March   (2/19/1999)

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