Morocco maintains solid ties with most African countries, prime minister says

Morocco maintains solid relations with most African countries, despite the "ungratefulness" against the Kingdom, said Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi Monday in Marrakesh.

"It is surprising that Morocco is today proud to maintain the closest ties of friendship, solidarity and cooperation with most African countries, regardless of the ungratefulness (against the Kingdom)," Youssoufi said in a speech read on his behalf by General Affairs Minister Ahmed Lahlimi before the Africa Business and Development Forum, currently held in Marrakesh (southern Morocco).

Youssoufi was hinting at the admission of the Polisario's self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) during the 1984 African summit of Nairobi. The decision prompted founder Morocco to quit the body.

The Polisario, backed by neighboring Algeria, claims sovereignty over Morocco's southern provinces.

The prime minister, who called African countries to overcome divisions and show more solidarity and unity, recalled that Morocco has always been at the heart of a vast intercontinental exchange system that linked Africa, the Arab-Muslim east and Andalucia.

Youssoufi urged participants in the Marrakesh forum to pay tribute to the late King Mohammed V (King Hassan II's father), who founded with other prestigious African leaders, the first Pan-African body that the continent has ever known.

He also hailed the action of King Hassan II, who continued on his father's path.