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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Touching base with the Maghreb
By Nevine Khalil
Topping President Hosni Mubarak's agenda during a two-day trip to Morocco and Algeria this week were efforts to settle differences between the two North African neighbours and Egypt's request to join the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). On the bilateral level, Mubarak co-chaired with King Hassan a meeting of the joint Egyptian-Moroccan Supreme Committee, that saw the signing of nine cooperation agreements and protocols. Mubarak also touched base with the new regime in Algeria, under the leadership of President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika, during a brief stopover en route to Rabat.
President Mubarak, with King Hassan, sipping a traditional Moroccan drink; the president heading the Egyptian delegation during talks with his Algerian counterpart Bouteflika
The trip, which began on Saturday, was also part of ongoing inter-Arab consultations on regional issues, particularly since Morocco's King Hassan heads the Jerusalem Committee -- an offshoot of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). In the two countries, Mubarak discussed the Middle East peace process and the possibility of convening a full Arab summit, similar to the 1996 Cairo summit, to coordinate positions on all peace tracks following the rise to power of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Differences among Arab countries as a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and various Arab controversial peace moves in Israel's direction, have made it increasingly difficult for an Arab summit to be held. Moroccan Prime Minister Abdel-Rahman Al-Youssifi said that the leaders of Egypt and Morocco would play a "decisive role" in bringing reluctant Arab leaders together.
In a joint communiqué, Cairo and Rabat emphasised the importance of honouring signed agreements and Israeli compliance with international law. The two countries also urged the international community, especially the co-sponsors of the peace process, the United States and Russia, as well as the European Union, to step up efforts to activate the peace process.
At the same time, Egypt's fence-mending efforts continue to bring closer the viewpoints of Rabat and Algiers, urging a reconciliation between the two Arab neighbours. They are involved in a territorial dispute over the Western Sahara. Ties were strained further when Morocco imposed visa requirements on Algerians after accusing its neighbour of being behind an armed attack on a hotel in the southern city of Marrakech in 1994. Algeria responded by closing its 1,200-kilometre land border with Morocco.
Mubarak secured Bouteflika's blessing for Cairo's efforts during the five-hour stopover. The Algerian president told a news conference that Mubarak "is the best informed Arab leader about the [dispute] in North Africa, and has good relations with everyone, which qualifies him for an important role." Commenting on Mubarak's initiative, Al-Youssifi said that Rabat was "optimistic" because of Mubarak's past experience in "resolving complex issues" among Arab countries.
Mubarak later told Hassan that Bouteflika was "willing for relations between Algeria and Morocco to improve, to become more brotherly and neighbourly," according to Mubarak's chief political adviser Osama El-Baz. Already, since Bouteflika's rise to power, positive signals have been exchanged between Algeria and Morocco, when the new president invited Morocco to attend an AMU summit in Algiers.
AMU was also a topic of discussion with the leaders of Algeria and Morocco. Egypt wants to join the five-nation bloc, established in 1989 as an economic and political alliance between Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Mauritania. Mubarak said that Egypt's westward aspirations "balance out Egypt's past eastward outlook". The president told reporters aboard his flight home that while Cairo will raise the profile of its relations with other North African countries, "this will not be at the expense of ties" with other Arab states.
Discussing another regional body, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Cairo hoped to persuade Rabat to rejoin the organisation by attending next July's summit in Algeria. Morocco froze its membership in 1983 when the OAU accepted the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic as a full member. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front is seeking independence in the disputed Western Sahara, a sparsely populated, phosphate-rich former Spanish colony controlled by Morocco. "Morocco is a founding member of the OAU and it is important that it returns to this institution," emphasised Moussa.
While political issues were spotlighted during the trip, Mubarak's visits to the two countries were primarily an economic endeavour. In Rabat, the joint committee oversaw the signing of nine agreements and protocols, covering the fields of aviation, science and technology, health and agriculture. The two countries plan to raise trade nearly seven-fold from the current $30 million to $200 million by the year 2001. Flights between the two countries will also be increased to seven a week, four of them by the Egyptian national carrier. By the same token, Tuesday witnessed the launching of the first sea freight route between the ports of Alexandria and Casablanca. The direct sea route will cut down on the cost of transport which, for years, was done through a third country.
In Algiers, the two sides agreed to raise the level of the joint Egyptian-Algerian Supreme Committee and activate bilateral economic ties through upcoming talks between the ministers of trade and a meeting between the two business communities. In addition to boosting economic relations, the talks should result in a free trade agreement, similar to ones Egypt has signed already with each of Morocco and Tunisia.
