The Algerian project of union of the Maghreb without Morocco is floundering. After the written message from the President of the Libyan Presidential Council addressed to King Mohammed VI, only twenty-four after the meeting in Tunis on April 22, Libya reiterates its call to strengthen the Arab Maghreb Union.
The first vice-president of the government of national unity (recognized by the international community), Hussein Atiya El Katrani, met this week, in Rabat, with the secretary general of the UMA, the Tunisian Taïeb Baccouche, whose legitimacy is contested by Algeria. The two parties “exchanged information on the situation in Libya and on the activity of the General Secretariat of the Arab Maghreb Union in its Maghreb and African dimensions,” Baccouche services indicate in a press release.
“The Libyan guest also reaffirmed his country’s membership in the Arab Maghreb Union and underlined the coordination role of the Union between the countries and its importance in their progress on the path of complementarity and integration,” add the same sources.
As a reminder, at the end of the talks between the envoy of the President of the Libyan Presidential Council and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, the Libyan Ambassador to Morocco, Aboubaker Ibrahim Ataweel, underlined in a statement to the press that “ This visit is part of efforts aimed at strengthening the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) to respond to the aspirations of the people of the region for greater stability and prosperity. The diplomat also praised “the active role played by Morocco in favor of Maghreb integration”.
With the reluctance displayed by Mauritania and the step backwards of Libya, Algeria can only count on Tunisia for its Union project.
