British, Moroccan FMs meet in London

British Foreign Secretary William Hague received here on Wednesday the newly-appointed Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. During the meeting, Hague reaffirmed the strength of bilateral relations on 800th anniversary of first diplomatic contact. He said: "I was delighted to welcome my Moroccan counterpart Mr. Salaheddine Mezouar today, at a time when Britain and Morocco are celebrating 800 years of diplomatic ties," according to a statement by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office after the meeting. "We discussed regional issues including Iran, Syria and Libya, and agreed to keep in close touch on these issues. I thanked Mr. Mezouar for Morocco's support during our presidency of the G8; and I reaffirmed our support for the Moroccan government's reform programme," Hague noted. "We discussed the developing economic relationship, and welcomed the launch of the Moroccan British Business forum later this week. We agreed we can do more to increase bilateral commercial links, and I hope that these will remain at the heart of the relationship as it develops further," he added.