ALGERIA: Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki meets with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers while on offical tour of Algeria.

Record ID: 574061

  • Title: ALGERIA: Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki meets with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers while on offical tour of Algeria.
  • Date: 13th February 2012
  • Summary: ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MARZOUKI AND BOUTEFLIKA SITTING IN LOUNGE INSIDE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TUNISIAN PRESIDENT MONCEF MARZOUKI, SAYING: "I am moved by this very cordial meeting and I believe in the great importance of this visit, which has been preceded by only protocol and courtesy visits. For me, it was a duty to visit this revolutionary country. When we were young we would sing the Algerian anthem more than we sung the national anthem of Tunisia, and thus there is an emotional side too for me for this visit. At the same time, there is also a political dimension because it is very important to revive the Union of Maghreb, something that hasn't taken place so far and I am very happy because the president has assured me that he also adheres to this project, God willing, on both a bilateral level and at the level of activating the Maghreb Union as a whole. Oportunities have opened before our people and the strength of relations with our big neighbour will extend as a result of this visit; diplomatic ties as ties to the people of Maghreb. We are looking out to a new future." VARIOUS OF MARZOUKI AND BOUTEFLIKA SITTING IN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria, Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3RTDX6J1H49IV90GG3J7UZTU6
  • Story Text: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika welcomes his Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki as part of an official tour of countries of the Maghreb.
    Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki visited his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Sunday (February 12) as part of a tour of the countries of Maghreb.
    Algeria is the final leg of Marzouki's tour, following on from Morocco and Mauritania, in which he hopes to re-energize moves to build an integrated North African economic bloc.
    Bouteflika welcomed Marzouki at the airport and then escorted him to the presidential palace where the two leaders held talks.
    Marzouki wants to forge ahead with the Arab Maghreb Union, formed in 1989 to emulate the European Union model of economic and political integration.
    Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco formally make up the union but it was never implemented due to mainly differences between Algeria and Morocco - its two most populous members - over disputed Western Sahara territory.
    "It is very important to revive the Union of Maghreb, something that hasn't taken place so far and I am very happy because the president has assured me that he also adheres to this project, God willing, on both a bilateral level and at the level of activating the Maghreb Union as a whole," Marzouki said.
    This is Marzouki's first official visit to Algeria after being elected in December.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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