El ministro de Justicia de Argelia visita Marruecos en el marco de la cumbre de La Liga Árabe
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita received Tuesday morning in Rabat the Algerian Minister of Justice, Abderrachid Tabi, in charge of extending the invitation to the Alawi kingdom to attend the 31st Arab League summit to be held in Algiers on November 1 and 2.
This is the first official visit by a high-ranking Algerian official to Morocco since the severing of bilateral relations formalised in August 2021 by the head of Algerian diplomacy, Ramtane Lamamra. In fact, diplomatic ties have been strained since the closure of borders in 1994 as a result, among other issues, of the Western Sahara dispute.
The meeting is limited to protocol, so it is not expected that there will be a de-escalation of the tensions between the two countries, which set the agenda in the Maghreb. The Algerian government, headed by Adbelmadjid Tebboune, has sent several emissaries to the various Arab capitals to formally invite the members of the organisation. Tabi himself went personally to Jordan and Saudi Arabia before visiting Morocco.
The Algerian Justice Minister's visit, as an emissary, took place on 7 September, still within the framework of the Arab League. Since then, the parties have avoided commenting on the arrival in Rabat of the former president of the Algerian Supreme Court, the highest magistracy in the Maghreb country.
A cette occasion, l’émissaire du président algérien a remis la lettre d’invitation adressée à SM le Roi Mohammed VI, que Dieu L’assiste, pour assister aux travaux du Sommet arabe, prévu les 01 et 02 novembre 2022 en Algérie.
— Maroc Diplomatie ?? (@MarocDiplomatie) September 27, 2022
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry leaked the image of Bourita with Tabi. The Algerian authorities have not yet commented on the displacement. Nor has the Algerian state news agency APS reported on it.
Morocco has accepted the invitation and will be present at the event, the first in three years to be held in a face-to-face format after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The only question so far is who will represent Rabat. Media outlets such as Jeune Afrique and Asharq al-Awsat cite diplomatic sources as saying that it will be King Mohammed VI, but other sources point to Prince Moulay Rachid or the head of Moroccan diplomacy, Nasser Bourita.
Bourita himself confirmed at a preliminary meeting at the Arab League ministerial level that Morocco "is willing to participate" actively within the organisation.
The 31st edition of the summit will take place against a turbulent backdrop for the region, marked by the looming energy and food crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
