Libya PM arrives in Morocco for two-day visit

RABAT

A delegation of top Libyan officials, headed by interim Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib, arrived in Morocco on Tuesday for a two-day visit, official sources said.

The crisis in Mali, the Arab Maghreb Union and bilateral economic cooperation are expected to top the agenda of the visit.

On Tuesday evening, the Libyan delegation will visit King Mohammed VI's palace in Casablanca to attend one of the religious seminars hosted by the Moroccan monarch during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

On Wednesday, the Libyan premier is due to hold talks with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelilah Benkirane, government sources said, with the accompanying ministers to meet members of Morocco's Islamist-led coalition government.

"This visit will focus on political dialogue and the strengthening of economic cooperation" between the two countries, one official told AFP.

It will also be an opportunity "to revitalise the Arab Maghreb Union and identify partnership projects," the official MAP news agency said after Kib's arrival.

The situation of the large Moroccan community in Libya, estimated at more than 100,000 people before last year's revolution that toppled Moamer Kadhafi, is likely to feature in Wednesday's talks as well.

Ties between Rabat and Tripoli have improved since Kadhafi was driven from power and then killed in October.

Both countries belong to the dormant Arab Maghreb Union, a five-nation organisation founded in 1989 whose members also include Algeria, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

The deteriorating security situation in Mali appears to have spurred the five nations into action, with their interior ministers due to meet in Morocco later this year, after Maghreb foreign ministers met in Algiers last month.

(AFP)