"I wish to reaffirm our sincere commitment to the policy of the outstretched hand towards our Algerian brothers, out of loyalty to the bonds rooted in brotherhood, religion, language and good-neighborliness that have always existed between the peoples of the two sister nations," said the sovereign in a speech to the nation on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the accession of HM the King to the throne of his glorious ancestors.
"This was shown recently by the sincere and spontaneous manifestations of friendliness and support expressed by Morocco - its King and its people - for the Algerian national football team at the African Cup of Nations held in our sister country, Egypt. Moroccans shared in the Algerian people's joy and pride when their national team deservedly won the Cup. It was as if Morocco had won, too," the sovereign underlined.
"Because of this awareness and of the belief that ours is a common destiny and that we share the same historical and cultural heritage, we are optimistic and hopeful that we can work for the fulfilment of Maghreb peoples' aspirations for unity, complementarity and integration," the monarch underscored, assuring that "the security and development challenges facing us cannot be tackled by any country on its own."