Tunisian politician pleads for a Maghreb without Morocco and Mauritania

Leader of the Ennahda Party and president of the Tunisian parliament Rachid Ghannouchi does not hesitate to publicly display his proximity with Algeria. He provided further proof for this during an interview with Radio Diwan FM on Tuesday, pleading for a three-way Maghreb, made up only of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

«This nucleus must be the starting point for relaunching the dream of the Arab Maghreb Union, which will help resolve Tunisia's problems in a regional framework», he stressed. Ghannouchi said that he wants this «core» to carry out major projects, such as «the opening of the borders between the three countries and the unification of the currency because the future of these Maghreb countries is common». The president of Ennahda has, moreover, referred to his relations with Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune as «excellent».

The proximity between Algeria and the leader of Ennahda was sealed during the visits he made to Algiers in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 where he was received by former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. 

Following the statement of the former Tunisian president, Moncef Marzouki, accusing Algeria of having aborted the Jasmine revolution, the management of Ennahda welcomed in a press release «the Algerian positions in support of Tunisia».