Libya, Morocco call for reactivating Maghreban union
Morocco and Libya have stressed the need to reactivate the structures of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) as a strategic choice.
This came in a joint statement issued at the end of the 4th session of the Moroccan-Libyan high joint commission that convened in the Libyan northeastern city of Benghazi under the co-chairmanship of Moroccan prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi and Secretary of the Libyan general popular committee, Mohamed Ahmed Mankouch.
The two states underlined the need to reactivate the union to lay firm economic foundations in the region and fulfill Maghreban peoples' aspirations.
The need to reactivate the UMA and to set up a Maghreban market was stressed by the commission as a must in the prospect of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, the Maghreban union being a strategic and irreversible choice.
Morocco and Libya have likewise underlined the need to achieve Arab unity, to grant further interest to the projects set in the frame of the Arab league to consolidate joint Arab action, materialize Arab complementarity and reform the league's charter to enable the pan-Arab organization keep pace with world changes.
The Commission has also stressed the necessity to back African unity and to exploit the continent's wealth to enable it access the coming century.
Morocco renewed backing to the Libyan people and called for a definitive and immediate lifting of the unfair sanctions decreed against the North African country, the statement said adding that the two sides have hailed the creation of the Sahel-Saharan States' community which targets economic complementarity between member states and the reactivation of relations between Arab and African countries.
The Moroccan-Libyan high joint commission meets alternately in Morocco and Libya. The 3rd session, held in July 1998 in Rabat, was crowned by the signing of several accords in the fields of transport, tourism, administration, social affairs. The 3rd session had also been marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the creation of a free trade area.