Saudi Prince Bandar: Morocco best bridge for Arab-African rapprochement

Morocco, a pioneer country in promoting cooperation between Arab and African peoples, constitutes the best bridge for the consolidation of Arab-African rapprochement, said Saudi Prince Bandar Ben Sultan on Friday in Asilah, northern Morocco.

Prince Bandar, who was chairing the opening ceremony of the first Congress of African Writers held in Asilah as part of the 20th Asilah festival that runs from August 7 - 21, said this congress is in itself an evidence to the role played by Morocco in consolidating cooperation ties between Arab and African peoples.

Prince Bandar, who is chairman of the managing board of the Asilah Forum Foundation, said intellectuals may have the privilege to succeed where politicians and diplomats have failed: in Arab-African rapprochement and the consolidation of ties among peoples.

During the opening ceremony, the head of the UNESCO bureau for Morocco and Mauritania, read out a message from UNESCO director general Federico Mayor, who paid tribute to Asilah for its commitment in favor of knowledge, culture, tolerance and dialogue.

The first day of the Asilah festival was also marked by the launching of construction of a library named after Prince Bandar. The library project is to cost some 40 million Dh (more than 4 million dollars) and is supervised by the Center for Oriental Studies at Oxford University.

The Tchicaya U'Tamsi Prize, part of the festival, was awarded Sunday to Congolese Poet Jean-Baptiste Tati-Loutard who is also minister of energy in the Congolese cabinet.

The Tchicaya U'Tamsi Prize, devoted to African poets, was set up in 1989 in the memory of this Nigerian poet who used to regularly attend the cultural festival of Asilah.

This biennial prize rewards a creator for the whole of his work, for his originality and for his contribution to dialogue among civilizations.