King Hassan II receives U.S. Congressmen

King Hassan II received Monday at the Royal palace of Skhirat (near Rabat) a group of U.S. congressmen led by Harold Rogers, a Republican representative from Kentucky.

The audience was attended by Morocco's ambassador to Washington, Mohamed Benaissa and U.S. ambassador in Morocco, Edward Gabriel.

The US delegation which comprises Herbert Bateman, Ed Bryant, Bill McCollum and Tom Latham, also had on the same day talks with Moroccan Interior Minister Driss Basri on ways of boosting partnership between the two countries.

The U.S. party's visit to Morocco follows a letter sent recently by a group of some 90 senators and congressmen to President Clinton, praising Morocco for having "consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to peace, stability and constitutional democracy."

The Kingdom's economic policies have led to an increase of more than 300 percent in U.S. direct investment over the past year, the US congressmen said in their letter. They also urged president Clinton "to undertake all appropriate steps to strengthen U.S.-Moroccan cooperation."