In the midst of a diplomatic quarrel, can Morocco and Algeria be reconciled? The Arab League summit could be an opportunity for the Algerian president and the king of Morocco to meet.
At the beginning of November, a summit of the Arab League will take place, to say the least. And for good reason, it is in Algiers that the event will take place. With a question that completely obscures the agenda of this summit: will King Mohammed VI be present in Algeria while relations between the two North African countries are very tense?
A first step has in any case been taken by Algeria. Because this Tuesday, September 27, the Algerian Minister of Justice Abderrachid Tabi “handed over the letter of invitation addressed to His Majesty King Mohammed VI”, in which the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune offers him to come “to attend the work of the Arab summit , scheduled for November 1 and 2, 2022 in Algeria”, indicated the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also showed diplomacy since Nasser Bourita received in person the emissary sent by the Algerian president.
It therefore remains to be seen whether Mohammed VI will respond favorably to the invitation of Abdelmadjid Tebboune. According to sources close to the royal palace, this will indeed be the case. Mohammed VI would indeed have planned to go to Algiers, even if we are awaiting an official announcement from the Moroccan power. In the meantime, several media ensure that the sovereign would rather have chosen to send the head of government Aziz Akhannouch and his Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita on the spot.
The Arab League does not want to mediate
While the King of Morocco had canceled his visit to Tunis after the invitation, by President Kaïs Saïed, of Brahim Ghalipresident of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) at the Japan-Africa summit, there should be no problem this time: the SADR will not be invited to the summit at the beginning of November.
Western Sahara is indeed not a member of the Arab League and the latter does not wish to play the mediator. “The Arab League has adopted a position of principle not to intervene in the question of the Sahara… Whatever happens between Morocco and Algeria or between a third country and one or the other of these two countries, the position of the League will always be clear: not to intervene unless there is a request, which is not the case”, thus declared at the beginning of September the secretary general of the League, Ahmed Abul Gheit.
More than a year after the rupture of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Algiers, the summit risks in any case being overshadowed by the Algerian-Moroccan reunion, whether the king is physically present or not. If so, it would be a first since 2005 and would mark the beginning of a new era. Tebboune’s official invitation is a first step towards de-escalation. The response of the Cherifian sovereign is therefore eagerly awaited. Will Mohammed VI play the suspense until November?