Morocco renews calls to Algerian authorities to announce, officially, their response to the royal initiative of dialogue “Morocco can only regret that this initiative did not know the desired response" CAIRO: Morocco has called on Algeria to officially respond to an offer by King Mohammed VI for dialogue to improve relations between both countries. Morocco will remain “open” and “optimistic” with regard to relations with Algeria, and it renews calls to Algerian authorities to announce, officially, their response to the royal initiative to create a common political mechanism for dialogue and consultation, a government statement said. “Morocco can only regret that this initiative did not know the desired response, especially that it has always been requested by Algeria itself,” it said. A meeting was held between the Moroccan foreign minister and the Algerian ambassador to Rabat on Monday. The meeting followed several others which had taken place over the past 10 days, to connect with the Algerian authorities at a ministerial level, the statement said. During the talks, the Moroccan side renewed its call for Algeria to make public its official stance towards King Mohammed VI’s initiative for dialogue, announced on Nov. 6, to discuss outstanding disputes, including closed borders. The two countries have had strained ties for decades particularly over the Western Sahara region where Algeria supports the Polisario independence movement against Morocco.