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Morocco: monarch invites Algerian president for dialogue 

November 2, 2022 at 12:00 pm

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, [COP22/Twitter]

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has invited Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to visit the kingdom for “dialogue”, AFP has reported. According to Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, the king was unable to meet the Algerian leader at the Arab League Summit in Algiers, so “His Majesty gave instructions to send an open invitation to President Tebboune.”

The North African neighbours have had no diplomatic ties since August 2021. Nevertheless, Bourita explained that the Moroccan monarch expressed his intention in recent days to visit Algeria for the summit. However, according to the minister, “Our delegation did not receive any confirmation from the Algerians through the available channels, after requesting clarification on the arrangements for the reception of the king.”

Bourita is leading the Moroccan delegation at the summit. He expressed his regret that “answers were not received” through the appropriate channels.

His Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, had asked in an interview with Al-Arabiya channel on Monday whether the absence of King Mohammed VI from the summit, which ends today, was a “missed opportunity”. He also noted that President Tebboune would have given the Moroccan monarch a full protocol reception at the airport if he had flown to Algeria.

Relations between Rabat and Algiers have been tense for decades due to Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front, which calls for independence for the Western Sahara. Morocco regards Western Sahara to be an integral part of its own territory and proposes granting it some degree of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

READ: King cancels participation in Arab summit

Tensions increased when Algeria announced last August that it was cutting diplomatic ties with Rabat, accusing it of “committing hostile acts… since Algeria’s independence [in 1962].” Morocco expressed its regret over this decision and rejected the “false” justifications.

Algiers also believes that the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel, under the auspices of the US, was directed against Algeria. This normalisation in late 2020, insists the Algerian government, included US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara.