TUNIS - "Morocco always stands beside the Tunisian people for better or for worse," King Mohammed VI of Morocco said on Saturday.
The Moroccan sovereign, who was speaking from the rostrum of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), reiterated his commitment to build fruitful co-operation relations between Tunisia and Morocco and make of them a model in Maghreb relations.
"We are keen to strengthen the ties binding our two peoples and raise them to the level of an exemplary strategic partnership," he stressed at an official ceremony held at the NCA.
"This joint commitment should be translated into promising structuring projects, particularly in priority areas," he added.
"A wise and optimum use of the privileged relations between Tunisia and Morocco will certainly help concretise Maghreb complementarity," he argued.
"The Maghreb Union is lo longer an optional choice or a luxury. It has rather become an urgent popular demand and a regional inevitable and strategic requirement," he underlined, recalling that experience has shown that unilateral approaches are ineffective to deal with the security dangers facing the region, especially with regard to challenges coming from the Sahel and Saharan region in terms of security and development.
The Moroccan King said that the realisation of a comprehensive development for peoples of the region requires beforehand the creation of a climate conducive to the establishment of major inclusive projects, and especially the completion of the finalisation of the Maghreb free trade area.
Another prerequisite is the construction of connection networks for the different infrastructure to facilitate the free movement of persons, services, goods and capital between the Maghreb countries and open wide opportunities and prospects for the creation of wealth and employment.
In a welcome address, President of the National Constituent Assembly Mustapha Ben Jaafar commended the excellent relations of friendship and co-operation between Tunisia and Morocco.
He stressed the importance of the frameworks governing Tunisian-Moroccan relations which, he said, should be translated into ideas and initiatives to achieve the desired qualitative change and promote the various aspects of economic partnership.
He also stressed the desire to strengthen co-operation between parliamentary institutions in the two countries, particularly through the creation of a Tunisia-Morocco parliamentary friendship group.
Ben Jaafar also stated Tunisia's willingness to draw inspiration from the Moroccan experience in transitional justice and management of religious affairs.
The official ceremony was attended, in particular, by Interim Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, government members, NCA deputies, representatives of political parties and national organisations and the delegation accompanying the King of Morocco.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2014
