Mercosur eyes signing draft agreement on trade with Morocco before April 2005

The south American economic grouping Mercosur will propose to Morocco the signing, before April 2005, of a draft agreement similar to the accord signed with Egypt last July 7, Brazilian agency "ANBA" reported on Friday.

The draft agreement, to launch trade negotiations with Morocco, was examined Thursday in Brasilia by several experts from the Mercosur four-member countries, namely Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

According to sources cited by ANBA, Mercosur aims at signing the draft agreement with the north African country before holding the 1st summit of Arab and Latino-American heads of state, due in April 2005 in Brazil.

Last July, president Nestor Kirchner of Argentina said Mercosur hopes to conclude a preferential accord with Morocco.

The project of negotiating a trade accord between Morocco and Mercosur, the third economic regional market in the world, was evoked last April during the visit of Moroccan Foreign Minister, Mohammed Benaissa to Brasilia and Buenos Aires.