Algeria willing to strengthen ties with Morocco amid tension

Algeria will boost the bilateral ties with Morocco to enhance brotherhood of people, the Algerian president said in a greeting message to the Moroccan king, the official APS news agency reported on Saturday.

The message was sent on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People, as Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika expressed the country's determination to work together to strengthen bonds between their nations for "progress and prosperity."

The message to King Mohammed VI came amid a context of tension as Algeria put reserve over a request by Rabat to rejoin the African Union (AU).

Morocco abandoned its seat in AU in 1984 to protest the integration of the Western Sahara Polisario Front, a separatist movement backed up by Algiers.

The non-resolution of the Western Sahara issue continues to sow discord between Algiers and Rabat and hinders the construction of the Maghreb Union, observers said.

Source : XINHUA