The surprise reconciliation between Morocco and Algeria ending more than 12 years of often bloody hostility is expected to help next month's Arab summit and further the cause of North African unity.
A communique issued simultaneously in Rabat and Algiers on Monday announced the decision to re-establish full diplomatic relations immediately and to reactivate all past agreements, including a 19-year-old treaty of friendship and cooperation.Transport and communications links between the two countries are to be restored without delay.
The communique stressed the determination of the two North African Arab neighbors to cooperate toward "Maghreb," or North African, unity and toward solving all bilateral and regional problems including the dispute over the Western Sahara, which has repeatedly brought them to the brink of war.
The announcement followed months of secret high-level diplomatic contacts between the two governments and strong pressure from other Arab countries to put an end to their dispute.