By NNN-MAP
Washington : Morocco has an interesting opportunity to be a healer and a unifier in the Middle East, mainly because of the presence of a large Moroccan Jewish community in Israel and in the north African Kingdom, said American president George W. Bush on Friday.
Speaking at a roundtable interview with foreign print media, the American head of State, who expressed his great appreciation of the leadership in the King of Morocco, noted that the presence of “a lot of Moroccan Jews” in Israel and in Morocco “provides the King an interesting opportunity to be a healer and a unifier” with regard to the peace process in the middle East.
The U.S. President, who is expected to visit the Middle east region as of January 9, regretted the fact that his tour will not include the Maghreb region –a regional grouping mustering, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya – due to a heavy schedule.
“The contribution of those (countries), of that area would be a significant contribution to achieving peace” in the Middle East, he pointed out.
Touching on his visits to the Kingdom, Mr. W. Bush said “one of my great trips as a civilian – I guess you’d call me a civilian – non-President, non-political figure – was when I went to Morocco.”
“I had the great pleasure of going to Marrakech (…), and enjoyed the wonders of the desert, and then was able to see snow-capped mountains shortly in the distance, in the short distance,” he concluded.