Spanish premier to visit Morocco on December

Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, is to pay a two-day visit to Morocco (December 8-9), to chair with his Moroccan counterpart, Driss Jettou, a high-level meeting between the two countries, announced on Tuesday in Barcelona, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, Ramon Gil-Casares.

The Spanish official confirmed this visit on the occasion of the second "North Africa and Development Forum," a two-day meeting attended by ministers and businessmen from the Maghreb and the European Union on economic and financial cooperation between these two regions.

Addressing participants at the meeting, Gil-Casares said Spain has adopted a policy focused on the strengthening of its cooperation with Maghreb states. He described as a "strategic priority" developing good relations with theses states, saying the future of Spain lies largely on stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean.

Morocco was represented in the meeting, which wound up Tuesday, by a delegation led by Minister of foreign Trade, Mustapha Mechahouri.