Moroccan-Egyptian high joint commission in Rabat on Tuesday

The Moroccan-Egyptian high joint commission will convene its third session in Rabat next Tuesday under the co-chairmanship of King Hassan II and President Husni Mubarak.

Egyptian deputy foreign minister in charge of Arab issues, Saed Abou Zeid, who made the announcement here on Wednesday said the session will give a new momentum to the privileged relations existing between the two states.

Abou Zeid will fly to Morocco next Saturday to lead the Egyptian side to the preparatory meetings of the joint commission session. During the preparatory meetings, experts will draft the conventions to be submitted to the high commission. The experts will also assess the implementation of the accords that were concluded during the commission second session held in May 1998 in Cairo and that were ratified by the two countries' juridical and institutional bodies.

Morocco's ambassador to Cairo, Abdellatif Mouline, on his part conferred in Cairo on Wednesday with Egyptian foreign minister Amr Moussa on preparations for President Mubarak's trip to Morocco.

The joint commission's 3rd session was initially scheduled for May 24-26, but the Moroccan and Egyptian heads of state had decided to postpone the meeting so as to define a common and global approach on the situation in the arab world in light of the latest developments in the region, mainly the general elections in Israel.

The third session of the joint commission will be marked by the signing of eight accords and protocols related to the sectors of fisheries, transport, agriculture, and social affairs. Major joint projects will be launched during Mubarak's visit in Morocco, mainly a sea line for the transport of goods and persons between Alexandria and Casablanca and the opening of a center to market Moroccan goods in Egypt. An accord setting up a free trade area between the two countries has been enforced last April 29.