Jeune Afrique: King Mohamemd VI Will Not Attend Arab League Summit in Algeria
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita informed the Arab League Secretary-General that King Mohammed VI will not attend the Arab League summit, which will open in Algeria on November 1.
Jeune Afrique reported on Monday that Bourita formally informed the Secretary on Sunday, October 30.
Quoting sources, the pan-African news outlet said that Bourita will represent King Mohammed VI at the summit.
The Moroccan delegation, which was supported to prepare the King’s visit, left Algiers on Monday.
The outlet cited several reasons triggering Morocco’s decision to cancel the King’s participation, including the non-appropriate reception given to the country’s foreign minister upon his arrival last week.
The news has not been officially confirmed by Morocco’s diplomatic channels.
Recent provocative acts by Algerian media, challenging Morocco’s territorial integrity, also triggered new tensions between the two countries.
Over the weekend, Algerian news outlet AL24 News published a divided Moroccan map, contradicting the map adopted by the Arab League summit.
In response, the General Secretary of the League of Arab States published a communique, stressing that the map the Arab organization adopts does not show borders between Arab countries.
The secretariat uses a map without showing the borders between countries in order to enhance the concept of Arab unity, the statement said, calling on all media outlets to show “great care” in attributing the information published on their websites to the Arab League or its institutions.
The adoption of the divided Moroccan map angered Morocco’s delegation, which protested the provocations.
Sources also confirmed that Morocco’s delegation in Algiers has faced provocative acts from Algeria’s organizing committee.
Algerian journalist Oualid Kebir slammed Algeria’s regime for the treatment of the Moroccan delegation, stressing that such moves are against ethics and principles of hospitality.
He also criticized Minister Ramtane Lamamra for not giving Bourita an “appropriate reception similar to what happened in September when Morocco received Algeria’s Minister of Justice Abderrachid Tebbi, who carried Algeria’s invitation for King Mohammed VI for the Arab League.”
In addition to King Mohammed VI, many other Arab leaders will not attend the summit, including Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, among several others.
