Buhari speaks with Moroccan king on telephone

President Muhammadu Buhari had a telephone conversation with King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Thursday.

Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, disclosed this in a statement, saying the monarch expressed satisfaction with the improvement in the health condition of the Nigerian leader.

Buhari has been in the UK since January 19 on medical vacation.

Adesina said both leaders discussed how to strengthen relations between their countries.

“King Mohammed VI of Morocco Wednesday had a telephone conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari in London, where the Nigerian president is on vacation,” Adesina said in a statement.

“The King, who initiated the call, asked after the president’s health and expressed satisfaction at his rate of improvement.

“The two leaders also discussed the current stage of the Morocco-Nigeria Atlantic crude oil pipeline project.

“King Mohammed VI thanked President Buhari for Nigeria’s support in returning Morocco to the African Union and notified him of Morocco’s request to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“The Moroccan King also expressed his intention to make the Rabat-Abuja strategic partnership a framework for regular consultation and cooperation on African issues of mutual interest to both countries.

Adesina added that Buhari thanked the king for the phone call, and said that he looked forward to deepening relations between both countries.

The monarch, who ascended the throne in 1999, visited Nigeria for the first time in December.

He held a meeting with Buhari at the presidential villa and also joined him for Juma’at prayer at Aso Rock mosque.

There was a diplomatic row between Nigeria and Morocco in the buildup to the 2015 election, with the North African country recalling its ambassador.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry had claimed that Mohammed IV spoke to former President Goodluck Jonathan on telephone from France, where he had gone for a visit, but Moroccan authorities denied the claim.