"We know that the absence of the (Maghreb) union represents an annual loss of about two percentage points of growth for the countries concerned" while "the main cause of this situation is known, it is the dispute between Algeria Morocco due to the Algiers action for separatism in the Moroccan Sahara, "he wrote editorial of the OEG newsletter for the month of July. In this respect, he considers that the Algerian Foreign Minister "added fuel to the fire" by asking recently "extravagant terms to reopen the border between Algeria and Morocco, including seeking to recognize that Algeria has a fixed and irreversible position on the Sahara issue. "

"This statement goes against Morocco's efforts to advance cooperation and South-South trade, showing the bad faith of the Algerian regime, which does not wish to improve relations with its Moroccan neighbor or the progression of regional integration, "said Dr. Saint Prot.

In this context, the Maghreb specialist is convinced that with these "offensive and clearly unacceptable conditions," Algiers " is blocking any hope of resolving differences."
According to him, the statement by the Algerian Minister shows "the full involvement of the country in Moroccan Sahara an artificial conflict created from scratch by Algiers which continues to fund generously and manipulates various European NGOs or to lobby in favor of separatism in the Moroccan Sahara. "

In addition to "the unreasonable pursuit of an obsolete regional hegemony strategy," the French university denounced "the extremist position by Algerian leaders and their obvious lack of enthusiasm for the idea of open borders and the Maghreb "integration. He points to the "inertia" of Algeria whose leaders "do not want their citizens to be in contact with an open and democratic Morocco" and "do not seek a regional economic integration that would create transparency rules and of conduct for economic cooperation. "

"Therefore, the Maghreb is a victim of politics of another age characterized by stubbornness not considering current issues and refusal to build the future of this region" says Dr. Saint Prot.

- News and events on the Sahara issue /Corcas-