Meeting to probe US-Maghreb partnership in Washington next week

Practical modalities to implement the economic partnership between the United States and the Maghreb will be the focus of meetings in Washington April 18 with economy and finance ministers of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, said US economic affairs under-secretary of state, Alan Larson.

Larson underscored the importance the United States grants its partnership project with the Maghreban regional grouping in a press conference held at the eve of spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

The initiative bearing the name of the former economic affairs under-secretary of state, Stuart Eizenstat, will be debated the same day in a forum by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation" (OPIC). It will also be the main topic of a luncheon-debate at the Washington "Cosmos" Club with active participation by M. Larson, the Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian finance ministers and other officials and entrepreneurs.

The project launched three years ago is meant to promote economic development, business opportunities and economic and trade cooperation between the United States and North African countries through incentives to private investment and the advent of a market at the Maghreban scale.

Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia are gathered, together with Libya and Mauritania, in the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).