The Arab League summit opens this Tuesday, October 1, in Algiers, but without the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI. Algiers had sent an official invitation to the sovereign who will finally be represented by his Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita. The Arab world buys large quantities of wheat from Ukraine and Russia. On the agenda of this two-day summit, several other issues, particularly African ones. A new strategy for food security must be adopted.
The Arab summit in Algiers will address several issues related to the political situation in Libya and Lebanon, the relaunch of the Arab peace initiative with Israel adopted in Beirut in 2002, the crisis in Sudan and the conflict in Yemen. Delegations present in Algiers proposed to discuss the interferences of Iran and Turkey in the internal affairs of the countries of the Arab region. Algeria, for its part, put on the table the file of the reform of the Arab League so that the general secretariat of the organization is rotating. A proposal that risks being ignored because of the Egyptian veto, reports our correspondent in Alger, Faisal Metaoui.
The African files
The situation in Libya is on the agenda of the Arab summit in Algiers. The question of the holding of legislative and presidential elections in Libya will be decided by Arab leaders, despite some reluctance from the Egyptian side on the representativeness of the government in Tripoli.
Considered worrying, the current situation in Sudan will also be addressed by Arab heads of state to support a return to constitutional order at a time when the country is witnessing demonstrations to demand ” a civil power “.
Present in Algiers, Nacer Bourita, Moroccan Foreign Minister, asked his counterparts for a firm condemnation of Iran because, according to him, of the support given by Tehran to the Polisario. Proposal not retained, which angered the head of Moroccan diplomacy, according to diplomatic sources.
The Moroccan delegation also protested against the non-respect of the protocol, during the arrival of Nacer Bourita in Algeria, which was quickly denied by Algiers, evoking ” baseless allegations “. An unfavorable climate for King Mohamed VI’s participation in the Algiers summit.
King Mohammed VI will not go to the top
An official invitation, suspense… but in the end the King of Morocco Mohammed VI will not go to the Arab League summit. Morocco will therefore be represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, present in the Algerian capital. since Saturdayindicates, for its part, our correspondent in Rabat, Victor Mauriat. This announcement is not a surprise as a royal trip to Algeria would have been a strong symbol in this period of tension between the two countries, but vagueness will have reigned until the end.
Since the invitation, carried by the Algerian Minister of Justice, in Rabat on September 27, guesses went well in the international press. Some saw the king coming with his Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, others with his son, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan… It will therefore be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, who will represent the kingdom in Algiers, a minimum service for a summit which will ultimately welcome few major heads of state. These announced absences, in particular those of the Saudi leader Mohammed Ben Salman, will have participated in the decision of Mohammed VI not to go to Algiers, according to a specialist in the region.
The Moroccan sovereign had however made it known on Saturday, through his head of diplomacy, that he was studying “the conditions for its participation in the summit “, conditions not met if we are to believe the decision of the monarch, especially since tensions appeared this weekend during the preparatory meetings between the Moroccan and Algerian delegations. Modification of a map of Morocco broadcast on Algerian television, disagreements on the Iranian question… the two countries that broke off diplomatic relations, last year, fought a veritable battle of information through the press. On Sunday, Nasser Bourita also specified to our Saudi colleagues from Al Arabiya that the Arab League was the “ only channel of communication with Algeria “.
Food security and water security…
On the economic level, the Algiers summit will adopt a new strategy for Arab food security. Countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon, are highly dependent on the import of cereals from Ukraine and Russia, hence the desire of the Arab States to adopt a new agricultural strategy to produce locally wheat.
Water security will also be discussed at the Algiers summit, especially with Egypt’s proposal to discuss the Renaissance Dam conflict and the sharing of Nile waters with Ethiopia.
It is the first time since 2019 that members of the Arab League have met.