Tunisia Proposes Closed Meetings Between The Maghreb Countries’ Foreign Ministers

Tunisia proposed specific dates for organizing a closed-door consultative meeting between the foreign ministers of the Maghreb countries, as a reaction that follows Algeria’s official call to revive the AMU last week end.

Tunisian Foreign Minister, Khamis Al-Jahinawi, said in a publication on his Facebook page that his country is following up its diplomatic efforts with the brothers in all Maghreb countries, to support efforts to activate the institutions of the Maghreb Union.

“We have proposed specific dates for a closed consultative meeting, away from the spotlight, between the foreign ministers of the five Maghreb countries”.

“We are pursuing special efforts with the leadership of the two countries: the Republic of Algeria and the Kingdom of Morocco, in order to close the file of bilateral Arab and regional disputes, including the Algerian-Moroccan dispute”, he said.

“We believe that the initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the statements of the brothers in Algeria and the movements of the Maghreb diplomacy can contribute to the activation of the Maghreb-Maghreb relationships, bilaterally and collectively, and close the page of old disputes between the two brotherly countries, the Algerian Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco”.

On Thursday, Algeria announced its official communication to the Secretary-General of the Arab Maghreb Union to organize a meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the Union “as soon as possible”, APS reported.

A statement that was issued by the Foreign Ministry said that the Secretary-General of the Arab Maghreb Union was invited to organize a meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the Union “as soon as possible, adding that “Foreign Ministers of member countries ere informed of this request”.

The statement explained that this initiative “stems directly from Algeria’s firm conviction, which it expressed on many occasions, on the need to re-establish the reactivation of the Maghreb edifice and rebuilding its structures”.

“This is also an extension of the results of the recent extraordinary summit of the African Union that was held on November 17 and 18, 2018, on the institutional reforms of the continental organization, which paid particular attention to the role of regional economic complexes in the tracks of the integration of African countries”.

Observers linked the follow-up between this call and the initiative of King Mohammed VI, in which he called on Algeria to create a common political mechanism for dialogue and consultation.