Algerian president rejects Moroccan invitation to visit Rabat after tension at Arab Summit

Algerian President Abdelmedjid Tebboune has refused a Moroccan invitation to visit Rabat, amid continued tensions between the two countries, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has reported.

Algerian authorities said that the invitation was "deceitful marketing and a justification for the absence of King Mohammed VI from the Arab Summit which concluded in Algiers on Wednesday".

Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco, citing "hostile" actions from its Western neighbour, in August 2021. The two countries have a long history of troubled relations, with Algeria backing the pro-independence Polisario movement in the Western Sahara dispute.

The Algerian official news agency APS previously reported that the Moroccan king was due to attend the Arab summit but decided to withdraw at the last minute.

The Jeune Afrique magazine, which is close to Moroccan authorities, said that this was due to the "inappropriate reception" given to Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on his arrival in Algiers to attend the summit. He was reportedly not received by his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra.

Bourita, however, later announced an "open" invitation to Algerian President Tebboune to visit Morocco and meet King Mohammed VI in response to a statement by Lamamra calling the king's absence "a lost opportunity" for a meeting between the two leaders and the improvement of ties.

Algeria also claimed that Bourita had been received at the summit "with the same protocols given to all his Arab counterparts" and that Moroccan complaints were "a pre-ordained scenario".