Morocco ready to foster cooperation with Algeria, premier

Moroccan Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, on Tuesday renewed Morocco's will to foster cooperation ties with neighboring Algeria.

Morocco is ready to consolidate cooperation ties with Algeria to the service of the two brotherly peoples, the glory of the Maghreb and the immunity of the Arab and Islamic Ummah (nation), Youssoufi said in a message of congratulations he sent to Algerian new Premier, Ali Benflis, appointed over the weekend by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, following the resignation of Ahmed Ben Bitour.

Morocco had repeatedly called for improving Moroccan-Algerian relations, that soured over the past years in view of Algiers' direct involvement in the Sahara issue. Borders between the two states have been closed since 1994 when evidence showed the involvement of Algerian-born French nationals in a terrorist attack against a luxury hotel in Marrakesh (southern Morocco), killing two Spanish tourists.

Winds of reconciliation between the two Maghreban nations started to blow after the election in April 1999 of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who multiplied good will statements towards Morocco.On the morrow of his election, Bouteflika actually sent Morocco warm messages, vowing to improve neighborliness ties with the kingdom and to upgrade cooperation between the two countries. Later on, however, President Bouteflika made anti-Moroccan statements, mainly charging Morocco of sheltering camps of Islamist extremist groups.