Tunisian president says King Mohammed is a powerful support to continuation of joined march

Tunisian president Zine El-Abidine Benali said Wednesday King Mohammed VI of Morocco is a powerful support to the joined march towards achieving Maghreban peoples' aspirations to integration, unity, solidarity and to the perfection of the construction process of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

The Tunisian president told his country's ambassadors during the annual meeting that with the demise of King Hassan II (last July 23), the region has lost one of its great leaders and a founder of the UMA, voicing confidence that his son and successor, King Mohammed VI, will carry on his late father's actions and will be a strong support to Maghreban action for the achievement of integration, unity and solidarity and for the perfection of the construction process of the Arab Maghreb Union.

Turning to his country's relations with other UMA member states, the Tunisian president said he has always granted particular attention to consolidating friendship links and diversifying cooperation ties between peoples and states both at the bilateral level and at the level of the UMA.

He added that other Maghreban leaders have the same options, stressing that making UMA institutions operational is on top of his priorities, due to the fact that this grouping is an important factor for Arab unity, a major contribution to consolidating links of cooperation, complementarity and joint action and an ideal instrument for cooperation with Mediterranean countries and other groupings, including European and African ones.

A Maghreban summit is expected during November in Algeria after a five-year freeze, during which all activities were suspended in view of tensions between Morocco and Algeria over this latter's support for the Polisario, a guerilla movement that claims the independence of Moroccan southern provinces.