Baccouche urges Sarraj to call for holding Arab Maghreb Union summit in Tripoli
Tripoli : Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) Taïeb Baccouche met with Head of the Presidential Council of Libya Fayez al-Sarraj in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday.
During the meeting, Baccouche urged Sarraj to call for holding an AMU summit to get the bloc involved more in the Libyan crisis, as Libya now holds the rotating presidency of the AMU. He added that they, at the union, have never stopped attempts and putting forward proposals and initiatives which would serve the aspired integration among the AMU member states.
“I’m really glad to have come to Libya at the time when Libyans are celebrating the seventh anniversary of the February 17 revolution and at the time of marking the 29th anniversary of the Union,” Baccouche said.
He pointed out that the AMU foreign ministers met 34 times so far, and that the culture, education, health and interior ministries held successive meetings, adding that the agreements reached at those meetings were not translated into actions as the AMU Presidency Council has not been holding meetings.
For his part, Sarraj expressed regret for the disruption of the AMU march, stressing that he will work in a practical way through consultation to overcome the obstacles that prevent the summit from being held. He hoped for the member states to respond to his efforts in convening the summit in Tripoli, so it becomes the kick-start of a real activation of the AMU institutions, with the view to serve the Union’s strategy of regional integration.
The Arab Maghreb Union is a trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity among Arab countries of the Maghreb in North Africa. Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia became members of the bloc after signing the Treaty establishing the AMU on 17 February 1989.
The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political disagreements among its member states. No high-level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008[3] and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
—AB/UNA-OIC