King Mohammed VI will travel to Addis Ababa to attend the African Union summit on January 30 to make the case for Morocco’s strong determination to regain its natural place within Africa’s institutional family. The announcement was made by Morocco’s designated Head of Government, Abdelilah Benkirane, in a statement to the Press. Morocco withdrew from the predecessor of the AU, the Organization of African Unity, in 1984, on grounds of the biased decision of the organization. Morocco’s return to the African institutional family hinges on a simple majority vote by the member countries. So far, 39 countries, making more than the majority of the 54 African Union member states, have expressed support for Morocco’s return.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 13, 2017 16:21 UTC