Emergency Meeting of Arab FMs: Bourita Warns against Internal and External Dangers Aimed at Dividing Arab Countries

Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, on Monday warned against the internal and external dangers aimed at dividing Arab countries, calling for mobilization to face these attempts.

“In line with HM King Mohammed VI’s vision on joint Arab action based on the importance of an objective and impartial analysis of Arab reality, it is important to warn against internal and external dangers that aim to divide Arab countries, in order to arouse the mobilization and determination needed to face these plans and thereby resuscitate the Arab decision-making power and draw the contours of a future which meets the aspirations of our peoples for development and which is at the level of the degree of civilization of our Arab nation within the framework of full respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Arab countries,” Bourita pointed out at an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, organized Monday through videoconference.

The Kingdom of Morocco wishes to see this meeting be the opportunity for a collective awakening as to the need to clean up the Arab scene, on the basis that the Arab interest is a common interest and that the security of Arab countries, in its comprehensive approach, requires collective commitment, he added.

He also expressed the wish to see this meeting constitute a new departure to turn the page of the past, a turning point towards the restoration of Arab decision-making power and a starting point to move from the level of discourse and theorizing to action, innovation and taking initiatives capable of influencing the course of events, in accordance with the interests of the Arab countries and their common aspirations for the achievement of peace, security, stability and development, far from narrow patriotic egoisms.

To achieve these aspirations, it is necessary, he said, to have a solid management system for joint Arab action, as well as managers and executives capable of making this ambition an effective source of proposition.

Regarding the Palestinian cause, the minister stressed the need to focus on the success of the positive efforts made at the level of the United Nations and by the Arab and Islamic countries aimed at promoting negotiations, communication and dialogue to achieve the expected objective, namely the establishment of an independent Palestinian State and the achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East region.

He recalled the message sent recently by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the Palestinian President, in which the Sovereign stressed that Morocco, which always places the Palestinian question at the same level as the question of the Moroccan Sahara, will continue its constructive commitment to achieve the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East region.

He reaffirmed, in this regard, the firm and clear position of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of HM the King, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, in favor of the Palestinian cause and its commitment to a peaceful settlement based on the two-State solution.

Bourita underlined that His Majesty the King has never ceased to insist on the need to preserve the special status of the city of Al Quds Acharif, to respect the freedom to practice religious rites for the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as well as the Muslim character of Al-Quds Acharif and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to defend the historic identity of this city as a land of coexistence between monotheistic religions.

To achieve these objectives, Morocco has opted, in accordance with royal directives, for an efficient approach implemented by the Bayt Mal Alqods Acharif Agency with regard to the preservation of the historic monuments of the holy city and to help the Maqdessis enjoy all their rights, the minister added.

Regarding the issue in general, the most effective way is diplomacy and political work in parallel with the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, said Bourita.

The Kingdom of Morocco hopes that this initiative will maintain its promising momentum and will make this meeting an opportunity for a strong start towards a rational management of the joint Arab action that breaks with past practices and narrow calculations, he concluded.