Arab sports ministers meet in Rabat

Arab sports and youth ministers are meeting in Rabat this November 17-18 to coordinate efforts and draw up an action plan to promote Morocco's candidacy to host the 2006 soccer World Cup.

The meeting was decided in Amman during the arab youth and sports ministerial council held in parallel to the 9th Pan-Arab Games.

Moroccan sports and youth minister called his arab colleagues to endeavor to reach decisions and results likely to consolidate Morocco's bid especially as the meeting is held just some weeks before the inspection visit to Morocco by the world football federation "FIFA."

He recalled that the Arab Sports Union and the Arab Football Union have voiced support for the Moroccan candidacy and that the chairman of the two unions, late prince Faysal Ben Fahd Ben Abdelaziz, had expressed backing to Morocco's candidacy as "a project of all the Arab nation."

Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi hailed at a meeting with the participating delegations, the strategy adopted by the Arab ministers to support the Moroccan candidacy and stressed the importance of the Arab countries' backing to the bid.