OLIVIER KNOX, Washington | Wednesday
US PRESIDENT George Bush welcomed Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to the White House on Tuesday with a pledge that he will seek to bind the two “war on terrorism” allies in a free trade deal.
“Today, I’ve informed His Majesty that our government will work to enact a free trade agreement with Morocco,” the president told reporters as the two leaders met in the White House Oval Office.
“It’s in our nation’s interest that we do so. His Majesty believes it’s in his nation’s interest that we have a free trade agreement as well,” said the US president, who described Morocco as “a great friend of the United States.”
The United States currently has free trade agreements in effect with only a short list of countries including Canada, Mexico, Israel and Jordan the lone Arab state to enjoy that status.
“We are honoured with the relations we have enjoyed so far with the United States, but I think it’s time that we have to shift the gear to go in a higher speed,” said the monarch, who spoke through an interpreter.
But Bush’s efforts could be hampered by the US Senate’s refusal thus far to grant him sweeping “trade promotion authority,” which would prevent the lawmakers from offering amendments to any trade accord and bind them to an up-or-down vote.
“The Senate needs to act, and it needs to act now,” said the president.
Bush who has repeatedly taken official Arab media to talks in recent weeks for allegedly fanning the flames of the Middle East conflict also urged Arab leaders to step up efforts to bring peace to the region.
“The Arab world has responsibilities, and we will work with them to delineate those responsibilities and to encourage them to accept those responsibilities,” he said with the monarch at his side.
The US leader is likely to repeat that message when he welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to his beloved Texas ranch for a brief visit set to focus on ways to end fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.
For his part, the Moroccan leader praised US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s recent visit to the Middle East even though he gave the diplomat a frosty reception when they met April 8, at the start of the nine-day trip.
“We can begin to see the results” of the initiative, the king said, perhaps referring to Israel’s withdrawal from key West Bank towns, adding he hoped Powell had “recovered by now from the trauma he had” at their April 8 meeting.
At that meeting, the king pointedly wore a badge depicting Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock built on territory claimed by both the Palestinians and Israelis and asked why Powell was not beginning his trip in Jerusalem.
That question, posed at a photo opportunity, was widely interpreted as an indication of Arab anger over Powell’s itinerary which did not have him arriving in Jerusalem until four days later and was seen as giving tacit US support to Israel’s military operations in the West Bank.
While the Moroccan monarch has traditionally been seen as a staunch US ally in promoting Washington’s regional policies, he has chosen to adopt stronger language in support of the Palestinians in recent meetings with US officials.
Most notably, the king has repeated his “total support” for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat still surrounded by the Israeli army in his West Bank headquarters on a number of occasions. – AFP