King Mohammed VI invited Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to come “dialogue” in Morocco, for lack of having been able to do so during the Arab League summit in Algiers, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told AFP.
This invitation, which is not new, comes after the Moroccan sovereign gave up participating in the summit of Arab leaders which takes place until Wednesday in the Algerian capital. It is part of a context of acute crisis between the two enemy brothers of the Maghreb after the rupture of their diplomatic relations in August 2021, at the initiative of Algiers denouncing “hostile acts” of his neighbour.
Mohammed VI had announced in recent days his intention to go to Algiers, where he had been invited as head of state of Morocco by President Tebboune. But “no confirmation came (from the Algerian side) through available channels” after the Moroccan delegation in Algiers inquired about the arrangements planned to welcome the Cherifian sovereign, explained Nasser Bourita. The head of Moroccan diplomacy deplored that there is no “no response through the appropriate channels”.
For his part, in an interview with a Saudi news channel, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra regretted on Monday a “lost opportunity” referring to the absence of the Moroccan Head of State.
This kind of meeting cannot be improvised in an airport lounge. »
Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs
Reacting to the declarations of his Algerian counterpart according to which President Tebboune would have formally received Mohammed VI on his arrival in Algiers, Nasser Bourita estimated that “this kind of meeting cannot be improvised in an airport lounge”. Also “His Majesty (Mohammed VI) gave his instructions to send an open invitation to President Tebboune since this dialogue could not take place in Algiers”assured the Minister of Foreign Affairs who represents Morocco at the Arab summit.
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Mohammed VI has repeatedly reiterated in recent years a “hand held out” to Algeria, despite the deterioration of bilateral relations. “We aspire to work with the Algerian presidency so that Morocco and Algeria can work, hand in hand, to establish normal relations between two brotherly peoples”had pleaded last July the Cherifian sovereign on the occasion of the traditional feast of the throne.
The security cooperation established by the Moroccan neighbor with Israel after the normalization of their relations in December 2020 has exacerbated tensions between Algiers and Rabat, already high due to deep disagreements over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.