Days after Algeria urged the General Secretary of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) to convene a meeting of the Union’s Foreign Affairs Ministers Council, the organization’s Secretariat General reacted to the proposal on Saturday. In a statement issued on November the 24th, the Union’s Secretary General, Taieb Baccouche said that he received with «great satisfaction», the Algerian proposal.
Speaking about the Algerian proposal, AMU’s Secretariat General referred to the conclusions set by the 11th Extraordinary Session of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the 17th and 18th of November.
The meeting focused on institutional reform of the organization, recalled the same source, adding that the session insisted on the role played by economic groups in the continent.
The body chaired by Taib Baccouche seized the opportunity to announce that it has «informed the five countries in the Maghreb about the initiative suggested by Algeria», on Thursday, November the 22nd.
The body hopes that all members of the AMU would respond positively to the Foreign Affairs Ministers Council’s invitation.
Mauritania wants to host the AMU’s meeting
On Saturday, the Mauritanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communiqué stressing that the country is ready to host the above-mentioned meeting. «The Arab Maghreb Union is a framework created to strengthen fraternity in the region and a tool that can be used to improve social and economic cooperation between the neighboring countries», wrote the Mauritanian Foreign Ministry.
Mauritania said that it supports all initiatives aiming at «reviving the institutions of the Arab Maghreb Union for the good of its peoples».
For the record, the Arab Maghreb Union’s Foreign Affairs Ministers Council works on sessions and examines the proposals of the Monitoring Committee and the Committee of Ministers.
The presence of all members is required for the holding of an extraordinary or a normal session at the invitation of the Chair or at the request of a member country.
On Thursday, Algerian diplomacy urged the Union’s Council of Foreign Ministers of the Union to host a session, almost two weeks after King Mohammed VI urged Algeria to join the creation of «a political mechanism for dialogue and consultation».