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Rice in Rabat 'for terror talks' Rice holds terror talks in Rabat
(about 23 hours later)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Morocco for the final leg of a tour of North Africa. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she discussed terrorism and political reform in North Africa during talks with officials in Morocco.
After a historic trip to Libya, she made brief visits to Tunisia and Algeria, before arriving in the Moroccan capital Rabat. She also said Morocco's long-running struggle with the Polisario Front insurgents in Western Sahara should be resolved quickly.
Morocco has a good relationship with the US, even if many Moroccans strongly disapprove of American foreign policy. The Polisario Front wants independence while Morocco has proposed autonomy.
Ms Rice's focus in her short visit is believed to be what the US calls "the war on terror". The Moroccan capital Rabat was her final stop in a North Africa tour that included a historic visit to Libya.
Ms Rice also stopped in Tunisia and Algeria.
"It is quite clear that there are problems of terrorism and need for counter-terrorism co-operation," between North African states and with the US, she said at a news conference after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi-Fihri.
She also said they had discussed "the process of reform" in Morocco and the other countries she had visited.
Strained relations
Morocco says it has broken up more than 30 cells sending fighters to Iraq in the last five years, and the US and North African governments believe there is a growing threat from religious extremists in the region.Morocco says it has broken up more than 30 cells sending fighters to Iraq in the last five years, and the US and North African governments believe there is a growing threat from religious extremists in the region.
Local disputes In neighbouring Algeria, about 60 people were killed in several attacks which took place within days of each other in August.
Other topics for discussion include the economic links between the US and Morocco, and North African regional co-operation, which is in a disastrous state.Ms Rice made a historic visit to Libya, saying relations were at a new phase Morocco sees the disputed Western Sahara as its southern provinces while others see it as an independent state under Moroccan occupation.
Morocco is also particularly keen to bring up Western Sahara, the disputed territory the kingdom considers as its southern provinces. The impasse has strained relations between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front.
Morocco wants US support for its proposal of semi-autonomy for the region, a proposal which has already been rejected by the Polisario Front, the armed movement struggling for total Independence from Morocco. Ms Rice said the US supports the UN effort to mediate a solution.
Historically Morocco has maintained a good relationship with the US, and this has not changed in recent years. The US sees the country as a stable friend in a difficult region, and a partner in the fight against Islamic extremism. In Tripoli, Ms Rice said US-Libya relations were at a new phase
Morocco is proud of what it calls its tolerant brand of Islam, and has cracked down hard on radical elements in its society. Resolving the conflict would allow Algeria and Morocco to improve co-operation on security and counter-terrorism, she said.
But Moroccans from all walks of life are fiercely opposed to the US invasion of Iraq, and the US's support for Israel. Morocco is a relatively liberal Muslim kingdom with a long history of good relations with the US.
Dr Rice will leave the region on Sunday, without visiting Mauritania, after the US strongly condemned last month's coup d'etat there. The most significant part of her trip will undoubtedly have been the historic visit to Libya, the first by an American secretary of state for more than half a century. The US sees the country as a stable friend in a difficult region, and a partner in the fight against Islamic extremism, says the BBC's James Copnall in Rabat.
Ms Rice started her tour of North Africa with a visit to Libya, the first by an American secretary of state for more than 50 years.
While in Libya, she said the two countries were working on a trade and investment framework to allow US companies to invest more, especially in Libya's oil industry.
Libya was on the US state department list of sponsors of terrorism until 2003, when it abandoned weapons of mass destruction and renounced terrorism.
Earlier this month, Libya agreed to pay compensation to families of the victims of the Lockerbie aircraft bombing, for which it formally accepted responsibility in the same year.