Visiting Tunisian President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki said Sunday in Algeria's capital Algiers that his visit is of great importance in terms of boosting the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and strengthening bilateral relations, Xinhua reported.
Following a meeting with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Marzouki told reporters that his visit to Algeria took on political dimensions in terms of "re-launching the Arab Maghreb Union," saying that he is happy that Bouteflika "expressed his attachment to this project."
The Tunisian president stressed that relations with Algeria will be consolidated after the two-day visit which is part of strengthening dialogue and consultation between the two countries and stands as an opportunity to boost relations of brotherhood, neighborliness and cooperation in various fields.
Marzouki's visit to Algeria is the last stop of his ongoing Maghreb tour, which aims at rekindling the fledgling North African relations and to give a boost to the hitherto inactive AMU. Marzouki has visited Morocco and Mauritania before arriving in Algiers.
Set up in 1989, the AMU has been limbo since its inception mainly because of the conflict opposing Algeria and Libya over the disputed Western Sahara.