His Majesty the king mentioned the fact that the French president has chosen Morocco for his first state visit outside Europe, which according to the sovereign attests the exceptional character of the relationship between the two countries, and reflects the deep, time-honoured, diversified ties between the two friendly nations.
His Majesty the King expressed his satisfaction “with the qualitative development of our partnership is equalled only by my firm resolve to ensure that our privileged relations become even stronger, closer and more fruitful.”
His Majesty the king devoted an important part of his speech to the future of the Arab Maghreb Union, and to the national cause concerning the Moroccan Sahara; in this respect he said “Morocco has made Maghreb integration a strategic objective, I should like, in this regard to reaffirm the kingdom’s deep commitment to the full-fledged implementation of the Arab Maghreb union, whose founding treaty was signed here, in Marrakech, in 1989”
His Majesty the King in his speech made a link between his strategic objective as to the implementation of the Arab Maghreb Union and the difficulties hindering the achievement of this aim due to the Sahara conflict, mentioning the vital importance of “the Moroccan initiative for negotiating an autonomy statute for the Sahara region”, in this respect he paid a special tribute to France for actively supporting the Moroccan initiative “Morocco has worked tirelessly to overcome the difficulties hindering the achievement of this objective, which is of vital importance for the countries of the region. In this connection, the kingdom of Morocco has taken the initiative and made a bold, sincere offer for the negotiation of an autonomy statute for its southern provinces, in order to achieve a final political solution under the aegis of he united nations; I hope our partners in the Maghreb will soon share the same view regarding the region’s future and make a constructive contribution to this initiative. I should like, in this respect, to pay special tribute to your country for actively supporting the Moroccan initiative as well as the kingdom’s efforts, which the Security Council unanimously hailed as both serious and credible”
The special tribute to France paid by the king in his speech came as a result to the support of France to Morocco’s endless diplomatic efforts to reach a lasting political settlement to the Sahara conflict. The French president confirmed his country’s total support to the Moroccan initiative, when he addressed the Moroccan parliament by saying “The Moroccan autonomy plan exists, it is on the table, and it constitutes a new element of proposal, after several years of deadlock. I hope that it will serve as a basis of negotiations for the search of a reasonable settlement”.
Source: CORCAS
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