Manama: In the latest indication at the highest levels that relations between Saudi Arabia and Morocco were fine, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and Moroccan monarch Mohammad VI spoke on the phone.
The two leaders reviewed “the distinguished fraternal relations between the two countries and the deep-rooted links between their people,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The latest regional and international developments were also reviewed during the phone call, the official news agency said.
Reports circulated in January that relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Morocco were tense over several issues and that Rabat recalled its ambassadors to the two countries.
Reports quoted a Moroccan official that it did not identify as saying “Morocco recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia for consultations.”
However, Morocco dismissed reports that it recalled its ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
“The reports are baseless and lack credibility,” Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said, stressing that no Moroccan official has made such a statement.
Morocco, throughout its long diplomacy history, has its proper channels to make such announcements and does not rely on news agencies, he said.
Bourita’s statement is perceived as a reminder that relations between Morocco and Saudi Arabia and UAE were much more robust than “irresponsible allegations.”
The two ambassadors who were in Rabat for “administrative protocols that required them to be physically there” resumed their mission in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi days later.
Morocco, like Jordan, enjoys a special status with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.