Marzouki’ starts Arab Maghreb tour

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki started on Wednesday his 6-day Maghreb tour, which will include Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria. The tour is “aimed at reviving the Arab Maghreb Union and discussing the holding of a summit that Tunisia proposed to host,” Marzouki's spokesman Adane Moncer said According to his schedule, the Tunisian President will begin the trip with a visit to Morocco (February 8-9) where he will meet the Moroccan king, Mohammed VI. Marzouki will then depart for Mauritania (February 10-11), and Algeria (February 12-13), where he is scheduled to meet with the respective heads of state. Marzouki will conclude his tour in Algeria, and is expected to return to Tunisia on February 14. The trip aims at strengthening the Maghreb-Tunisia relations and reactivating the Arab Maghreb Union, which has been suspended since 1994, as well as addressing the economic cooperation and security issues, and looking into holding a summit hosted by Tunisia. The Arab Maghreb Union was created in 1989 as a trade agreement meant to eventually achieve deeper political integration and has been suspended mainly because of the dispute between Morocco and Algeria over Western Sahara. Marzouki envisioned a "Maghreb of freedoms," modelled on the European Union, inside which citizens of the five member states could cross borders, reside, invest and buy property freely. "2012 will be the Maghreb's year," Marzouki said. The main obstacle to reactivating the UMA has been the row over Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony which has been annexed by Morocco in 1975, where separatist Saharawi rebels are backed by Algeria. The UN is leading negotiations aimed at solving the dispute. Western Sahara has a population of barely half a million but is recognised by dozens of states and is a member of the African Union. Marzouki argued that making a resolution of the conflict a pre-condition to further economic and political integration in the region was no longer the right approach. The region's foreign political and trade partners often point to a lack of regional exchanges as one of the reasons for the poor economic growth and rising unemployment that are driving millions to seek immigration. Marzouki is also expected to discuss security issues as the region grapples with protest movements inspired by Tunisia's revolution, as well as the scattering of the former regime in Libya. Marzouki's first foreign trip was to Libya in early January. Speaking at the AU summit in Addis Ababa 10 days ago, Marzouki said he was keen to see his country regain its rightful place in world diplomacy. "Tunisia had no diplomatic role, including in Africa where it had completely vanished from the scene," he said. "Tunisia lies where three worlds meet," he said, referring to the Euro-Mediterranean zone, the Maghreb and Arab world, and the African continent. "We intend to live up to this dimension."