The former head of the Moroccan government Abdelillah Benkiran spoke about the relations between Morocco and Algeria. The politician stresses between the two countries and the two peoples, there is a very strong bond of fraternity despite the differences.
During a video transmission conference, Abdelillah Benkiran immediately asked himself “why Morocco is buying Russian oil and not buying Algerian oil”. Yet, he believes, this “goes against the interests of both countries.”
The former head of the Moroccan government and member of the “Party for Justice and Development” said to himself, moreover, surprised that the borders between the two countries have remained closed for 26 years: “What is the problem preventing the construction of the Great Maghreb? Is the Western Sahara case the reason for this, or is there another reason? It is unreasonable for the borders to remain closed for 26 years! »He wonders.
For the former Moroccan minister, it is time for Algeria “to reopen its borders with Morocco because there is a relationship of fraternity between the two peoples”. Regarding the conflict in Western Sahara, which is at the origin of the deterioration of bilateral relations, Abdelillah Benkiran believes that this affair “must be left to the United Nations”. “We are doomed to assume our historic responsibility,” he adds.
It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of Moroccan citizens (89%) are for the reopening of the Algerian-Moroccan borders, closed since 1994 by Algeria. This is what the results of a survey entitled “Maghreb integration in 2020”, carried out between mid-October and the end of December 2019 by the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA) reveal.
