Tunisia, Mauritania examine ways to boost Maghreban union

Means of boosting the activities of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) topped talks held Tuesday in Nouakchott between Mauritanian President Mouaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya and Tunisian Premier Hamed Karoui.

The Tunisian press reported that the two men studied ways of making the Maghreb region a haven of stability and growth and an acting pole able to compete with other regional groupings.

The UMA, set up in Marrakesh in 1989 by Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, has been paralyzed since 1994 due to strained relations between Morocco and Algeria over Algiers' direct involvement in the Sahara issue and due to Libya's criticism of the other UMA members' attitudes toward the Lockerbie crisis opposing Tripoli to some Western countries.

According to Maghreban observers, the latest developments in the region, especially the settlement of the Lockerbie issue and the election of a new president in Algeria, will undoubtedly have a positive influence on the reactivation of the Maghreban process.

The Tunisian premier underlined that the bilateral approach to promoting relations between Maghreban countries is a sound path that will lead toward achieving genuine integration and harmony within the North African grouping.

UMA Secretary General Mohamed Amamou is currently in Algeria in a bid to "reactivate" the Maghreban unity process.