Moroccan legislative body sets up Moroccan-US friendship group

The Moroccan Chamber of Advisors (upper chamber of the Moroccan parliament) set up on Thursday a Moroccan-US friendship group, to be chaired by the chamber's speaker, Mohamed Jalal Essaid.

The group was created following a similar decision made last week by 110 US congressmen to set up the caucus, "Friends of Morocco in the United States Congress."

The 110 Republican and democrat signatory congressmen, including the speaker of the House of Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert pledge to endeavor, in the framework of the new caucus for the continued enhancement of awareness of the role of Morocco and its sovereign in the middle east peace process, promotion of goodwill and understanding between the two nations, expansion of trade and investment and increase of cultural exchange.

The association is set as US First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton has ended on Thursday a six-day private visit to Morocco where she was received by King Hassan II.

Last July, a group of 92 US senators and representatives had sent a letter to US chief executive, Bill Clinton, urging him "to undertake all appropriate steps to strengthen American-Moroccan cooperation" on the basis of shared values and interests, in view of the close link existing between stability, security and economic development.

Clinton had responded in a letter to the congressmen that the two countries share a common resolve to advance peace, stability, prosperity and democracy.

The U.S administration had also backed in August the congress call and asserted it supports strong U.S-Moroccan relations.