The people of north Africa's Maghreb region "need and deserve" to determine their own future, US Secretary State Hillary Clinton said in Algeria Saturday, ahead of elections there in May. Clinton was speaking during a brief visit to the country a day after attending a "Friends of Syria" international gathering in neighbouring Tunisia, and hours before flying on to Morocco.
"I come from Tunisia, tomorrow I will be in Morocco. My message is the same: the people of the Maghreb are as talented, creative and hard working as people anywhere in the world," she said in Algiers. "They need and deserve to make decisions on behalf of themselves because that is good for the dignity and rights of every individual and it's good for every society."
The Maghreb region comprises Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Clinton was met at Algiers' Houari Boumediene International Airport by Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, who visited Washington last May. The two were due to discuss political reform in the Arab world and the Maghreb region, security issues and counter-terrorism, said Algeria's foreign ministry.
The United States wants to help Algeria achieve prosperity, peace and security, Clinton said later at the US embassy. "Fifty years ago, Algeria became an independent nation," she said. "For the next 50 years Algeria needs to assume its rightful place as a nation among nations where prosperity, peace and security are available for the people," she added.
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