Speaker of Bulgarian parliament winds up visit to Morocco

Speaker of the Bulgarian parliament, Yordan Sokolov, left Morocco Saturday after a five-day visit during which he was received by King Mohammed VI.

The Bulgarian official said he was satisfied with his talks with Moroccan officials and thanked the Moroccan king for receiving him.

Sokolov and his accompanying delegation of 11 representatives had met prime minister Abderrahmane Yousoufi, foreign minister, Mohamed Benaissa, speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Abdelouahed Radi and other officials.

At the meeting with Abdelouahed Radi, Sokolov said his country supports Moroccan stance that all Sahrawis should be given a chance to take part in the UN-projected referendum in the Sahara.

"We wish that the referendum to be held in the Sahara by the United Nations be fair and give a chance to all sahrawis to participate," he told Radi.

Before coming to Rabat, the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation visited Agadir (southwestern Morocco) where they conferred with local officials on consolidation of friendship and cooperation ties between Morocco and Bulgaria.

Morocco and Bulgaria signed in December an agricultural cooperation agreement during Bulgarian trade and tourism minister's visit to Morocco. A free-trade area is scheduled to be set up.