RABAT, Morocco (AA) – Morocco said Monday King Mohammed VI will not attend the annual Arab summit, due to open on Tuesday in neighboring Algeria.
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita did not provide any reasons for the monarch’s absence from the two-day summit.
“The Moroccan king has given instructions to our delegation to continue their constructive work in spite of his absence,” Bourita told the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya.
Tension reignited between the two North African countries on Saturday after a state Algerian channel used a map seen as “wrong” by Morocco during an Arab ministerial meeting to prepare for the summit. The Algerian channel called the use of the map a “technical error” and apologized.
Bourita, however, said the Algerian clarification “was not convincing" to Morocco.
Algeria and Morocco are regional rivals, with their ties strained over the disputed Western Sahara region.
Last year, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing Rabat of having "hostile tendencies," an accusation denied by Moroccan authorities.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara