Maghreban foreign ministers to meet next march on summit

Maghreban foreign ministers will meet next March in Cairo to study the holding of a Maghreban summit, announced the secretary general of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

The UMA foreign ministers will meet on the fringes of the ordinary session of the Arab League council in Cairo, Mohamad Amamou told the Egyptian news agency MENA.

The UMA summit, supposed to meet once a year, has been suspended due to "certain differences" between member countries.

UMA was set up in 1989 by Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia, with the aim to foster integration between the five countries, sharing history, civilization and several cultural and social traits. However, the Union has been unable to take off as a full-fledged regional grouping, mainly due to Algeria's direct intervention in the Moroccan Sahara issue.

Amamou said he was hopeful UMA's specialized commissions will meet shortly to study the reactivation of the union, whose major ambition, he said, is to set up a Euro-Maghreban partnership and create a free exchange zone with Europe.