King of Morocco meets U.S. Secretary of State

King Mohammed VI of Morocco received here Wednesday US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, currently on a trip to the Middle East Region.

Following her meeting with the king, the US official conferred with Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi on bilateral relations, trade exchanges and the middle east peace process.

US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, who paid a visit to Morocco this September 1-2 pledged on Thursday support to Morocco, "a valued and a special partner in the pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East."

In a joint press conference with Youssoufi, the US secretary of state paid tribute to the late King Hassan II, saying "we value his friendship, his wise counsel and his contributions to peace. He earned a place of honor in the history of our modern time and we will never forget him or the leadership he provided."

She further described Morocco as "a leader in democratic reform," which the late king Hassan II began and are "now confirmed by King Mohammed VI and prime minister Youssoufi," calling the Middle East countries "to engage steadily in the process of democratic opening and economic reform."

Regarding her meeting with the king who, as she put it, "affirmed to (me) that he will continue on the path of his father who modernized Morocco while remaining faithful to its Islamic traditions, Albright said she was "deeply impressed by the king's compassion and commitment to the economic and social development of his people." She, then, insisted that "Moroccans can count on the United States for backing in their efforts to develop a more robust economy that meets educational, health, social and nutritional needs."

She further announced that her country will dispatch 100,000 tons of wheat to Morocco to mitigate drought effects in some Moroccan regions.

The Moroccan prime minister called the US administration to swap some of the country's debts into direct investments. "We emphasized the problems of debt which, as you know, constitutes a big obstacle to running the affairs of this country and constricts the capabilities of the government," he said.

"We asked our friends in the U.S. government to convert those debts, or part of them at least, into investments," he added.

Albright left Morocco this Thursday morning for Egypt, second leg of a tour that will lead her to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Jordan.