Libya sends envoys to Morocco and Mauritania after Maghreb talks
The President of Libya’s Tripoli-based Presidential Council, Mohamed Al Menfi, this week sent envoys to Morocco and Mauritania to deliver a message about plans for the Arab Maghreb Union.
It came after a meeting in Tunis on Monday between Mr Al Menfi, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria.
The leaders discussed possible ways to revive the union’s role in the region.
The Maghreb Union was established in 1989 to improve relations between the Maghreb states – Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia – to tackle regional issues.
In a message to King Mohammed VI of Morocco, envoy Sami Al Menfi said Libya emphasised the need to include Morocco in any plans over the restoration of the union’s role.
Morocco and Mauritania had not been represented at the Tunis meeting to discuss the future of the Maghreb.
Abubakr Attawil, of Libya’s embassy in Rabat, credited Morocco’s “active role in favour of Maghreb integration”.
He said it was necessary to intensify efforts to strengthen the union, to ensure stability and prosperity for the region, the Moroccan state agency MAP reported.
Libyan officials rejected any attempt to potentially create a parallel body to replace the current union framework. On Wednesday, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani received Libyan envoy Imad Al Falah at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nouakchott.
Libya urged Mr Ghazouani to back efforts to revive the union and seek further intrastate co-ordination at all levels, the official Mauritanian News Agency reported.
It has been previously reported that Mauritania rejected taking part in any form of consultation regarding the status of the regional bloc without the presence of Morocco.
Mauritanian news outlets had reported that Mr Saied’s first official state visit to Mauritania, the first by a Tunisian president since 2012, which was scheduled for this month, was cancelled due to Mauritania’s absence from the Tunis talks.
At its establishment in Marrakesh, the Maghreb aimed to create a borderless region between its five member states, ensuring the free movement of people and goods, as well as the adoption of joint policies.
However, the union has faced several obstacles over the years.
It has not been able to attain its goals due to continuing diplomatic feuds between its member states, mainly Algeria and Morocco.
Relations between the two countries have been strained by Algeria’s perceived support for a decades-old separatist movement in a region of Morocco.
No official summit involving all five member states of the Arab Maghreb Union has taken place since the 1994 summit in Tunis.
Last month, the leaders of three Libyan political bodies agreed to work on forming a unity government in the divided country after talks in Cairo hosted by the Arab League.
A political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has stalled since a UN backed plan to hold elections in December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over electoral laws and the eligibility of the main candidates.
The country remains divided between rival governments in the west in Tripoli and the east in Benghazi.