The 6th edition of the Russian-Arab Cooperation kicked off, Wednesday, December 20 in Marrakech. Algeria is boycotting the meeting, a «diplomatic source» told Saudi daily Achark Al-Awsat. Algerian media noted the absence of a delegation from their country during the meetings held yesterday in Marrakech between representatives of Arab countries. Thus, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, met on Tuesday with his counterparts from Palestine, Bahrain, Yemen and Sudan. Algerian diplomacy has so far remained silent about its absence from the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum. For the record, Algeria has already boycotted international meetings organized in Morocco. Algiers did not attend the 35th session of the steering committee of the 5+5 Defense Initiative in November 2022. Since the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, announced on August 24, 2021, Algeria has avoided all meetings held in Morocco except for the 70th session of the executive office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Justice, organized in October 2022 in Ifrane. The minister in charge, Abderrachid Tebbi, had made a trip to the Kingdom only to hand over the rotating presidency of said Council to his Moroccan counterpart and then left without even attending the event. It is worth noting that the 6th Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum is chaired by Nasser Bourita, Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates. This regional meeting gathered foreign ministers of participating countries, including Russia's Sergey Lavrov, in addition to Houssam Zaki, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, and ministerial delegations from various Arab states. Morocco was chosen as the host for this edition during the previous meeting in Moscow in April 2019. This edition operates in the format of an expanded Troika, comprising the Secretary-General of the Arab League, the three members of the Arab ministerial Troika, and the Presidency of the Arab Summit. The focus of this edition is on examining cooperation between Russia and the Arab world, aligning with current practices. Over the past few years, the significance of this Forum has grown as a platform for exchanging views and coordinating positions on various regional and international issues, as it takes into consideration the interests and priorities that bind the Arab and Russian parties in the realms of politics, economics, and trade.
