Morocco, Spain commit to upgrading ties

Morocco and Spain renewed Thursday in Madrid their "firm commitment" to consolidating their bilateral cooperation on the basis of political trust and fruitful cooperation.

The commitment was stressed at a press conference held by Moroccan Premier Driss Jettou and Spanish peer Jose Maria Aznar, at the end of a meeting in the Los Quintos de Mora farm, 150 km south of Madrid.

The two officials lauded the normalization of the two countries' ties and announced the holding of their high level meeting during the second half of next October.

Jettou and Aznar equally renewed Rabat and Madrid's determination to join efforts for the fight against terrorism.

In this connection, Aznar reiterated his country's solidarity with Morocco after May 16 terrorist attacks in Casablanca.

The Moroccan Premier hailed the steady progress of trade exchanges with Spain, specifying that this trade went up by 60 percent between 1998 and 2002. He added that Morocco will always be "an ideal and privileged partner for Spain."

Morocco made huge efforts to accept a "political solution" that resolves the Sahara issue "within the territorial integrity" of the kingdom, Moroccan prime minister, Driss Jettou, said on Thursday.

The solution to the Sahara issue should be looked for within "Moroccan sovereignty over the integrity of its territory," Jettou said at a joint conference with Spanish Premier at a farm south of Madrid.

For his part, Aznar renewed his government's support for the efforts made the United Nations secretary general to resolve the issue.

Jettou left Spain on Thursday at the end of a one-day visit.