Tripoli, 8 August:
Prime Minister Abderrahim Al-Kib was received by His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the Royal palace in Casablanca yesterday, as part of a two-day official visit to Morocco by a Libyan delegation. On his arrival the Prime Minister inspected a detachment of the Moroccan Royal Guard.
Al-Kib was accompanied by government spokesman Nasser Al-Manaa, Chief of Staff General Yusef Mangoush and the Libyan Ambassador to Morocco, Abubakr Ali Shaklawoon.
The Moroccan delegation consisted of Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, Foreign Secretary Saâd-Eddine El Othmani, General Abdelaziz Bennani and Moulay Mehdi Alaoui, the Moroccan Ambassador to Libya.
Talks during the visit have been dominated by the geopolitical climate in the Maghreb; however, on the agenda at the Royal Palace were social and religious matters, in the context of the holy month of Ramadan.
After meeting the King, the Libyan delegation attended an Iftar meal hosted by Prime Minister Benkirane. Today, Wednesday, Libyan ministers held meetings with their Moroccan counterparts.
“This visit is focused on political dialogue and strengthening economic ties between the two countries” a source at the Moroccan Foreign Ministry told the AFP news agency.
Mr Al-Kib described the trip as “an opportunity to give new momentum to bilateral relations between the countries, redynamise the Arab Maghreb Union and identify areas for partnership”, according to MAP, the Moroccan news agency.
Unanswered questions remain surrounding Libyan investment in Morocco during the Qaddafi era. Two government owned companies, The Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company, invested in the country under the old regime, however Libya authorities are still trying to determine the exact nature and value of all of these investments. [/restrict]
