Moroccan-Egyptian committee winds up meeting

The Moroccan-Egyptian coordination and follow-up committee held its first meeting in Cairo Thursday to prepare for the 4th session of the high joint commission scheduled for next May in the Egyptian capital.

During the signing ceremony of the meeting's minutes, the Moroccan and Egyptian foreign ministers, Mohamed Benaissa and Amr Moussa have voiced their determination to upgrade bilateral cooperation and to further dialogue between Rabat and Cairo. The two sides underlined the strategic character of relations between the two Arab states, which both hold a prominent place at the Arab, African and Mediterranean levels.

During his trip to Cairo, Benaissa conveyed a message from King Mohammed VI to President Husni Mubarak and discussed with his Egyptian peer bilateral relations as well as Arab issues and other questions of mutual concern.

He also met with Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid, over the situation prevailing in the Arab states and the upcoming meeting of the league ministerial council to be hosted this March 11-12 for the first time in Beirut to show Arab solidarity with Lebanon.

The 4th session of the high joint commission will be co-chaired by King Mohammed VI and President Mubarak.

Set up in 1997, the commission convenes every year, alternately in Rabat and Cairo.

The third session of the joint commission was marked by the signing of several accords and protocols related to the sectors of fisheries, transport, agriculture, and social affairs. An accord setting up a free trade area between the two countries came into force in April 1999.