The United States enjoys a sound relation with the Maghreb nations and hopes to further enhance ties with them, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David C. Welch on Thursday.
Welch met Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Foreign Minister Abdelwahab Abdallah and Defense Minister Kamel Morjane onbilateral ties, the U.S. relations with the Maghreb nations, Iran's nuclear issue and the situations in the Mideast, the Tunisian news agency reported.
Welch said he had "very important" talks with President Ben Aliand expressed hopes to bring the cooperative ties between Washington and Tunis to a higher level.
The U.S. senior diplomat has visited Morocco and Algeria beforearriving in Tunisia. Welch made the tour amid rising violence in the Maghreb, especially in Algeria, where a terrorist attack killed 41 people, including 17 UN employees at the end of 2007.
The tour was also aimed to warm up ties between the United States and the Maghreb nations as the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) voiced strong opposition to a U.S. military command base on their soil.
The Maghreb traditionally includes the three north African nations of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which formed the UMA together with Libya and Mauritania in 1989.
Source:Xinhua
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