Libyan official cites intensive contacts to relaunch UMA

The chairman of the Arab Maghreb Union consultative council, Libyan Souleiman Shhoumi, said intensive contacts are taking place to reactivate the Arab Maghreb Union.

In an interview with Egyptian daily Al Ahram, the Libyan official said the recent settlement of the Lockerbie crisis, opposing Libya to western countries, and the improvement of Moroccan-Algerian relations are indicators to the tendency to relaunch the UMA activities.

He explained that contacts are taking place to convene a meeting of the UMA consultative council, frozen since January 1992, before end of this year in Tripoli.

He went on that during their session expected next October, the foreign ministers of the five member countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) will prepare for a Maghreban summit slated for next November.

They will also look into Egypt's full membership application which is welcomed by all member countries, he went on.