Moroccan FM conveys to US president message from king Mohammed

Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, handed on Friday to US president George W. Bush a message from King Mohammed VI.

During the meeting, the US chief executive expressed thanks for the instantaneous and constant solidarity showed by the Moroccan sovereign with the US president and the USA and for Morocco's resolve and efforts to contribute to the campaign against terrorism.

Following the meeting with the US president, the head of the Moroccan diplomacy held a meeting with secretary of state Colin Powell and the presidential advisor for national security affairs, Condoleezza Rice. Talks covered the middle east, the Maghreb and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

Benaissa told MAP talks with the US president were an opportunity to underscore the longstanding and privileged Morocco-US relations and the two heads of state's resolve to carry on cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Benaissa who described the talks as "warm and deep" said the meeting reflects the importance that Washington grants to Morocco and to the stature and role of King Mohammed VI in maintaining strategic balance in the region.

On Wednesday evening, the head of the Moroccan diplomacy reviewed with US under-secretary of state for the middle east, William Burns bilateral issues, the problem of terrorism and other issues pertaining to the situation in the middle east, in north Africa, in Africa and in the Mediterranean.

Burns expressed the US appreciation for Morocco's stance regarding the struggle against terrorism, Benaissa told MAP recalling that the Kingdom was very active in the UN efforts to draft anti-terrorism resolutions.

Morocco's ambassador in Washington, Abdellah Maaroufi, and US ambassador in Rabat, Margaret Tutwiller attended the meeting.

Benaissa also met in the US federal capital meetings with top officials at the US administration and congress.

He will then head to New York where he will lead the Moroccan delegation to the United Nations general assembly.