Twenty Days after Morocco’s King Mohammed VI surprisingly launched an initiative calling for “direct and frank” dialogue between Morocco and Algeria in order to settle the transient and objective differences impeding the development of relations between the two countries, Rabbat on Tuesday again urged Algerian authorities to officially respond to the monarch’s calls for talks.
In a speech delivered early this month to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Green March, Morocco’s King suggested the establishment of a joint political and mutually agreed upon mechanism for dialogue and consultation with a mission to frankly and subjectively analyze key issues, using an open-ended agenda, without conditions or exceptions.
On Tuesday, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a written statement it regrets that Algiers had yet to reply to the proposal, adding that Rabat remains “open and optimistic” about the future of relations with Algeria.
Morocco also reiterated its request to Algerian authorities to make known, officially, their response to the Royal initiative for the establishment of a joint political mechanism for dialogue and consultation to break the stalemate in bilateral relations.
The statement came following a meeting held Monday in Rabat between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Algeria’s Ambassador to Morocco.
“Morocco still hopes that direct human contacts will provide the appropriate response to bilateral differences,” it added.
During his candid initiative launched during the first week of November, King Mohammed VI said he should like to stress that his country is willing to consider the proposals or initiatives Algeria may want to offer so as to break the stalemate in the relations between the two neighbors and sister nations.
The Foreign Ministry statement also noted that “Morocco took note of the letter dated 23 November from the Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) about the Tunisian and Algerian requests to hold a meeting of the AMU Foreign Ministers Council.”
Bourita clarified that the Algerian request is unrelated to the Royal Initiative.
