Algeria slammed for slurs against African Union for appointing Moroccan diplomat

The General Secretariat of the Arab Maghreb Union said it regrets Algeria’s slurs against the President of the African Union, after he approved the appointment of Moroccan diplomat Amina Selmane as permanent representative of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) to the AU.

In a statement on Sunday, Algeria said it was “deep astonished” at Moussa Faki “casual” and “reckless” decision to receive credentials of a “Moroccan diplomat falsely presenting herself as Permanent Representative” of the AMU to the AU.”

“General Secretariat of the Arab Maghreb Union expressed its regret at the use of inappropriate terms, such as “recklessness” and “reckless,” to describe Moussa Faki President of the African Union,” said a statement from the AMU seen by Hespress EN.

Algeria accused Faki of accepting a “gross protocolary staging” that yielded to an operation of “unhealthy manipulation, designed and implemented for purposes that in no way serve the interests of the UMA and the UA”, sinking even more into ridicule.

Algeria also claimed that it was never consulted about Selmane’s appointment, which it said was made outside the rules provided for by the Treaty establishing the UMA of February 1989.

The AMU’s statement emphasized that Salman is a Maghreb diplomat working with the Secretary-General and not with the country that nominated her, as well as working with Africa and with the President of the African Union.

The Treaty requires the unanimous vote of the member states at the level of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the AMU, the only body able to rule both on this appointment and on the establishment of cooperation relations with other countries.

In the same statement, The Maghreb Union announced the opening of an office in the African Union in Addis Ababa. The move was agreed upon with Moussa Faki, Chairman of the African Union Commission, back in January 2018, coinciding with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations.

However, the implementation of the agreement was hindered by the pandemic.

The statement went on to say that Amina Salman, Director of Economic Affairs at the General Secretariat of the Arab Maghreb Union, had been appointed as its representative in the African Union. The aim of this move is to cooperate with the presidency of the African Union to achieve Agenda 2063, which focuses mainly on continental economic integration through regional integration.