Morocco king invited to Arab League Summit in Algeria

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has received an invitation from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to attend the upcoming Arab League Summit being held in Algeria in early November, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Minister Nasser Bourita received the Algerian president’s envoy and Justice Minister, Abdelrashid Tabbi, in Rabat and he delivered “the letter of invitation addressed to His Majesty King Mohammed VI … to attend the Arab League Summit scheduled to be held in Algeria on November 1-2.”Morocco has not yet announced who will represent it at the thirty-first session of the Arab League Summit.

The Moroccan king’s visit to Algeria is important in light of the tensions between the neighbour countries, which culminated in August 2021 when Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Rabat due to what it called “hostile tendencies” towards Algeria. Morocco rejected the “false justifications”.King Mohammed VI has previously called on Algeria to normalise relations and open the borders between the two countries that have been closed since 1994.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for decades, due to Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front, which seeks the independence of the Western Sahara; a region considered by Morocco an integral part of its territory. The Front is calling for a referendum for self-determination under the supervision of the United Nations.

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