Algerian Presidential Frontrunner Calls for Improved Relations with Morocco

"Morocco is a brotherly country. We are not condemned to turn our backs on each other forever, and we must work to establish relations of trust and mutual respect, in the interest of our countries and the relations that bind our peoples," said the Algerian presidential candidate Azzedine Mihoubi, in an interview with Jeune Afrique.

According to him, the links between Algeria and the Kingdom of Morocco are part of the Maghreb framework. In this sense, the leader of the RND party would like - if elected - to work more to build regional, especially economic, integration, with the free movement of people and goods, as well as the possibility of setting up a common market.

Similarly, Azzedine Mihoubi intends to propose the organization in Algeria of a Maghreb summit in 2020, which will bring together the governments of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania. "We can make progress on the main issues of common interest, such as border protection, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and the resolution of the crises shaking our region, Libya and the Sahel in the lead," he is convinced.

Addressing the Sahara issue, the likely future Algerian president recalled that it has been registered since the 1960s as a case of decolonization with the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. "We are convinced that our Moroccan brothers will sooner or later understand that the policy of fait accompli does not work and is not an acceptable way to resolve this issue," said Azzedine Mihoubi.