Algeria holds the keys for Sahara issue that impedes Maghreb construction, FM

The Sahara issue "is an obstacle to Arab Maghreb Union project" said the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, stressing that "Algeria holds the keys to the settlement of this issue," and that it is the "only party capable of re-launching the Union."

Full activation of the Maghreb Union, mustering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania has been made impossible by the Sahara conflict, opposing Morocco to the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists, who claim separation of Morocco's southern provinces known as the Sahara. This former Spanish colony was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accord.

In a statement aired Friday by Radio SAWA, Benaissa said the borders between Morocco and Algeria are still closed despite the royal decision to lift visa requirements for Algerian nationals who want to visit Morocco, adding that "the complexity, history and circumstances of the Sahara issue are known to all."

Algerian foreign minister, Abdelaziz Belkhadem, had described Morocco's decision to lift the visa requirement, in force since 1994, as a token of "friendship and brotherhood between the two countries."

The Moroccan initiative was welcomed by the Maghreb Union through the Libyan foreign minister, whose country is currently chairing the UMA, and by several other countries.

The royal decision aims at "giving fresh impetus to the Maghreb Union and closing the ranks of Maghreban peoples," Benaissa had said.