Ethiopian speaker regrets Morocco's noticeable absence from African Union

Speaker of the Ethiopian parliament, Dawit Yohannes, who is currently visiting Morocco, deplored Friday the kingdom's "noticeable absence from the African Union."

This came at a meeting of the Ethiopian speaker with several political leaders, mainly first secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Mohammed El Yazghi, secretary general of the Istiqlal Party, Abbas El Fassi, and secretary general of the Justice and Development Party, Saadeddine El Othmani.

The Moroccan politicians informed Yohannes on the reasons of the kingdom's withdrawal from the Organization of African Unity and its refusal to adhere to the African Union. The two bodies, they said, have violated their own charters by approving the membership of a puppet member, the puppet Sahrawi republic, proclaimed by the Polisario front.

The Algeria-backed Polisario separatists are claiming the independence of Morocco's southern provinces, known as the Sahara, which is a former Spanish colony retrieved by the kingdom in 1975 under the tripartite Madrid accords, signed with Spain and Mauritania.

This, they went on, did not prevent Morocco from keeping excellent relations with several African countries, like Ethiopia.

Dawit Yohannes also met Moroccan foreign minister, Mohammed Benaissa, on bilateral cooperation and means to further reinforce it.

Benaissa told MAP following the meeting the talks covered means to further consolidate bilateral cooperation, recalling the creation in 2002 of a joint commission and the signing of a memorandum of understanding, during a visit of the Ethiopian foreign minister.

"We hope that Ethiopia plays a more efficient role in consolidating bilateral relations and intensifying efforts for the good of south-south cooperation," the head of the Moroccan diplomacy said.