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February 2, 2007 |
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CROWN PRINCE SULTAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ RECEIVES KING MOHAMED VI GREETINGS AND REVIEWS ISSUES OF MUTUAL INTEREST WITH THE MOROCCAN FOREIGN MINISTER. THE SAUDI-MOROCCAN JOINT COMMITTEE AGREES A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO DEEPEN BILATERAL COOPERATION. PRINCE SAUD WELCOMES THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES CALL FOR A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE PALESTINIANS, FOR STOPPING THE BLOODSHED IN IRAQ AND FOR THE LEBANESE AGREEMENT. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received a message from King Mohammed VI of Morocco. The message was conveyed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco Mohammed Benaissa during an audience at the king's office at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh. He also conveyed to the monarch the greetings of King of Morocco. In turn the king sent his greetings to the Moroccan king. The audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Prince Miqren Ibn Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, advisor to the King; Abdul Mohsen Ibn Abdul Aziz al-Tuwaijri, advisor to the King; Saudi Ambassador to Morocco Dr. Mohammed Al Bishr and Moroccan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdul Kareem Al Sammar. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his office visiting minister of foreign affairs and cooperation of Morocco Mohammed Benaissa. During the meeting, the minister conveyed to the Crown Prince the greetings of King Mohammed VI of Morocco. In turn, Crown Prince Sultan sent his greetings to the Monarch. Then they exchanged cordial talks and discussed matters of mutual concern. The audience was attended by Dr. Nizar bin Obeid Madani, minister of state for foreign affairs; senior protocol officials and Dr. Mohammed al-Bishr, Saudi ambassador to the Kingdom Of Morocco, and Abdul Kareem Al Sammar, Moroccan ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz, the minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General received Mohammed Benaissa, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Benaissa conveyed greetings and appreciation of Morocco's King Mohammed VI to the Crown Prince. On his Part, the Crown Prince asked Benaissa to convey his greetings and appreciation to King Mohamed VI. During the reception, they also discussed issues of Mutual interest. The reception was attended by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Obaid Madani and a number of High ranking officials. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal welcomed the acceptance by the Palestinian parties of the call made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz to the brethren in Palestine to immediately stop infighting and meet in Makkah to discuss differences away from any interference by any foreign parties. In a statement he read in the joint press conference with Moroccan foreign minister Mohammad Benaissa, Prince Saud hoped the acceptance would be translated into an immediate end of the infighting and convening of the meeting. On the Lebanese issue, the Saudi foreign minister hoped the support for the Paris III conference would lead the Lebanese to curb turmoil and return to dialogue reiterating his call to the Lebanese parties to accept the Arab league's initiative. On Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister expressed concern for the continued bloodshed in Iraq hoping current efforts would stop deterioration of security. The foreign minister expressed satisfaction over recommendations made by the tenth session of the joint Saudi Moroccan committee which was concluded. He said he held with the Moroccan foreign minister bilateral talks which dealt with regional developments including the urgent call made by king Abdullah to the Palestinians. The Saudi foreign minister commended efforts by Moroccan king Mohammad VI, the chairman of Al Quds Committee, for preservation of the identity of Al Quds as a symbol of coexistence among religions. Then, the Moroccan minister made a statement expressing satisfaction over the recommendations made by the joint Saudi Moroccan committee. The minister hoped all issues would be treated with wisdom instead of fighting, terrorism and violence and said conflicts should be solved through dialogue. The Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs and co-operation, Mr. Mohamed Benaissa underlined the depth of the historical and spiritual bonds linking the kingdoms of Morocco and Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh during the meeting of the 10th Joint Saudi-Moroccan Committee, Mr. Benaissa affirmed that these bonds constitute the solid base of the profitable co-operation and the constructive dialogue existing between the two countries, in harmony with the aspirations of the leaders of the two countries, King Mohammed VI and his brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdelluh Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The regularity of the sessions of the Joint Committee translates the determination of the two countries to widen the framework of their co-operation to make it deeper and to reinforce the bonds of agreement and comprehension between their two people, the minister added. These meetings, he continued, also offer the assessment of bilateral co-operation, in particular in the commercial, finances and investments fields, and examine new dynamics of this co-operation while alleviating the difficulties which obstruct it. For Mr. Benaissa, the achievement of these objectives is dependent on the efforts of the governmental departments concerned and the economic operators of the two countries, taking into account the new world economic guidelines towards a broader opening of trade and a continuous integration of the economic and financial institutions. H went on to express his wish to see this new positive dynamics of bilateral relations being reinforced to constitute a platform of an exemplary partnership between the economic operators of the two countries and to make the Saudi-Moroccan co-operation an engine of the project of installation of the large common Arab market. Mr. Benaissa invited Saudis to invest more in Morocco, and to benefit from the facilities and opportunities which the Kingdom offers. The minister, in addition, stressed that Morocco and Saudi Arabia share the same noble objectives aiming at the contribution to the realization of safety and stability in the world. This is a model to be followed in the way of the action aiming at the support of the choices for a fair and permanent peace and the for the principles of coexistence, moderation and openess, he said. The Minister pointed out the position of Morocco with respect to certain issues, atop of which the Palestinian cause, reaffirming the support of the kingdom for the Palestinian people and their national authority and the recovery of their legitimate rights to establish the Palestinian state with Al Quds as its capital. Concerning the situation in Iraq, Mr. Benaissa insisted on the need for preserving the sovereignty of this country and the unit of its territory, calling on all the Iraqi parts to avoid any skid which can involve ethnic confrontations and find reconciliation and agreement to consolidate the democratic and political bases for the country and ensure a return to a state of calm. With regard to the Lebanese crisis, the Foreign Minister reiterated the solidarity of Morocco with Lebanon, expressing the wish to see all the Lebanese parts showing wisdom and intensifying their efforts to preserve their unity and guarantee the stability of their country. About the situation in Sudan, the minister expressed the support of Morocco to the efforts of the government of this country to achieve peace in the province of Darfur. Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Mohamed Benaissa, Prince Saud said that both Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas had welcomed the suggestion from King Abdullah that they meet in Makkah. "It is a non-conditional proposal to set aside differences, stop violence and bloodshed and have the Palestinians return to a unified position," Prince Saud said. Benaissa agreed with Prince Saud, saying King Abdullah's suggestion stemmed from his feeling of responsibility toward the Muslim and Arab world. "That the two groups meet near the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque to settle their differences is a major achievement," he said. The prince did not specify when the Palestinian groups would arrive in Makkah but he noted that there had never been greater international determination to achieve peace in the Middle East and to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the Russian president's forthcoming visit to the kingdom would boost cooperation between the two countries through the signing of agreements in the economic and political fields adding that preparations are underway. On the kingdom's role in reviving the peace process in the Middle East, the Saudi foreign minister said that change in Israel's mentality on how to interact with the peace process will help solve this problem. He added, "We are ready to help in making peace, but opponents of the peace process should take the necessary steps to make optimism true and real." Commenting on a meeting of the Middle East Quartet in Washington, Prince Saud said he was hopeful it would concentrate on establishing two states Palestine and Israel which would live side by side. He also said officials should take lessons from past mistakes and not concentrate on side issues. "There are core issues that have to be dealt with in order for incidental issues to be discussed," he pointed out. He hoped the quartet would concentrate on the main issues such as Al Quds, the borders between the two states and the Palestinian refugees. On the appointment of Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubair as Saudi Ambassador to the US, the Minister said, "the Ambassador is appointed for his success in his job...he has responsibilities to care for relations between the two countries." Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said that the Kingdom appoints its ambassadors based on their qualifications and their capabilities for success in their post and not on their affiliation to the royal family. "There is no difference in terms of representation," he said, referring to the appointment of Adel Al-Jubair as the Kingdom's new ambassador to the United States, replacing Prince Turki Al-Faisal. "Royal or non-royal, all ambassadors represent Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in the country to which they are accredited. All have the same duties and the same tasks." On the kingdom's hosting of the forthcoming Arab summit, he said, "the Kingdom asked that the summit be held in Riyadh ... Guaranteeing attendance is up to each president. The Saudi foreign minister confirmed that the next Arab summit would be held in the Kingdom in March and said Saudi Arabia would send invitations to all Arab leaders. The kingdom will exert all efforts to make attendance comprehensive and will send invitations to all leaders, but the final decision on attendance will be up to the leaders themselves. The kingdom welcomes all." Referring to talks between King Abdullah and Iranian envoy Ali Larijani, Prince Saud said Iran had expressed its desire to look after Muslim interests and stop the spread of violence in the Muslim world. He said the Kingdom hoped these desires would "be implemented on the ground, especially in Lebanon." The foreign minister said he was optimistic that peace would be achieved in Lebanon, saying the amount of funds raised at the Paris conference last week gave an indication of the global community's support for Lebanon. He stressed, however, that peace would prevail in Lebanon only if "its national interest is put first and there is no foreign interference and the Lebanese are left alone to solve their own problems." He said the Kingdom looked forward to receiving Russian President Vladimir Putin next month. He said relations between the two countries had strengthened since King Abdullah visited the country as crown prince. The Kingdom and Morocco concluded their 10th Saudi-Moroccan Joint Commission meeting in Riyadh yesterday. The meeting focused on areas of bilateral interest, especially in the economic sector. "Areas of cooperation focused on removing hurdles to the flow of trade and investment opportunities," a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. It also mentioned that the two sides had approved a number of plans to deepen cooperation in the cultural, educational, and media sectors. |
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