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Moroccan King, Gabonese President Discuss Bilateral Ties

Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Gabon's President during the handing over of a donation of fertilizers from Morocco to farmers. (MAP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Gabon's President during the handing over of a donation of fertilizers from Morocco to farmers. (MAP)
    Rabat - Nouakchott - Asharq Al-Awsat and Al-Sheikh Mohammed
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Moroccan King, Gabonese President Discuss Bilateral Ties

Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Gabon's President during the handing over of a donation of fertilizers from Morocco to farmers. (MAP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Gabon's President during the handing over of a donation of fertilizers from Morocco to farmers. (MAP)

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has started an African tour that includes Gabon.

The King is expected to visit Senegal on Monday where he would meet President Macky Sall, according to Asharq Al-Awsat sources.

King Mohammed VI held talks on Wednesday with Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Presidential Palace in Libreville.

The Maghreb Arabe Press reported that the meeting was an opportunity to highlight the importance of the “deep, rich, and solidly rooted relations between Morocco and Gabon,” as well as the “strong bonds of brotherhood and solidarity between the two nations.”

Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Yolande Nyonda, Minister Delegate at the Gabonese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Jean-Yves Teale, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Gabon, later joined the meeting.

King Mohammed and Ondimba reviewed bilateral partnerships in all fields.

the King also supervised the handing over of a donation of 2,000 tons of fertilizers, in the presence of Ondimba.

This operation will be followed by a structural action aimed at ensuring that farmers in Gabon have access to quality fertilizers that are affordable and specifically adapted to the needs of soils and crops in the region, according to MAP.

Nyonda said that the Moroccan fertilizers could “alleviate the burdens on Gabonese farmers” as she expressed gratitude for the initiative.

The minister added that the Gabonese government is focused on a self-sufficiency program and the reduction of food imports. It relies heavily on Morocco’s support which is among the biggest fertilizer producers in Africa.

Gabon is an African country on the equator and is rich in its arable lands but faces some challenges in developing the farming sector.

The President of Gabon visited Morocco in 2010 upon the death of his father.

In 2018, Bongo received medical treatment in Morocco at the instruction of the Moroccan King. In 2021, he returned to Morocco on a “friendship and work” visit.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.