Moroccan Prime Minister deplores inter-Arab relations and institutions

Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi deplored a poor will on the part of Arab leaders to upgrade dialogue and consequently consolidate inter-arab relations.

Youssoufi said in an interview with Lebanese daily Al-Nahar that there is no common will on the part of Arab leaders in general and Maghreban leaders in particular to consolidate their dialogue and activities in order to strengthen their relations.

"We have always endeavored so that Morocco diversifies its economic relations. Our pan-Arab relations should have been stronger, but it is not the fault of Morocco alone, it is a shared fault," Youssoufi said adding "We remained prisoners of relations established by colonialism...we should show more interest in our own issues and set up the appropriate institutions."

The prime minister noted that the long-awaited Arab free-trade area has not been established yet, while Morocco will certainly enter a free-trade zone with Europe in 2010.

"This compels us to reconsider the functioning of the Arab League which has not changed since its inception in the first half of the century while we are on the eve of the 21st century," Youssoufi said.

He said that even the institution which was set up later on within the league, namely the Arab summit, to help settle problems does not convene on a regular basis, while the European summit that was copied on the Arab pattern convenes twice a year.