North Africans look to the south

The high-profile presence of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI at the 29-30 November African Union-European Union summit in Abidjan – also attended by the Algerian-backed Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, an AU member since 1984 – underlined how far North African political rivalries are shaping pan-African relations. The king’s handshake with Algerian prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia surprised observers, but with the Maghreb’s cold war still ratcheting up, few expect a breakthrough soon.