Morocco King meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

LONDON – Moroccan King Mohammed VI paid on Monday a courtesy visit to Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan who is currently staying in his private residence in Morocco.

A picture of both leaders smiling went viral on social media, heralding a positive sign of warming ties between the United Arab Emirates and Morocco after months of cold relations between the two countries.

King Mohammed VI’s visit came as former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would not forgive Morocco for involving Islamists in power during the Arab Spring.

In a video sent Sunday to the 11th session of the Maghreb Forum organised by the Mada Center for Humanitarian Studies and Research in the coastal city of El Jadida, Marzouki warned that Maghreb countries were under a serious threat from the situation in Libya.

"What is happening in Libya is not a threat to this member country of the union, but a direct danger to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco," he warned.

"The counter-revolution led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt targets not only Algeria and Tunisia, but also Morocco," he said.

"These powers do not forgive Morocco for having listened in 2012 to the demands of the street and for not opposing the government being led by Islamists," he added.

This is not the first time that Marzouki openly attacked Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Last June he accused the UAE of its involvement in unsuccessfully breaking the Arab revolutions. He also denounced an "axis of evil" that Abu Dhabi forms with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, accusing them of being behind the deterioration of the situation in Sudan and Libya.

A year ago, Marzouki said that only Turkey and Qatar helped Tunisia in its fight against terrorism, sparking a huge criticism on social media.

“A bastard like thousands others. The reactions of an incompetent who has always sought power and nothing else,” wrote Chabir Ahmed on Facebook.

“Here is one who has humour. This fatal character ignores the fact that Turkish and Qatari regimes are among the main contributors to Al nosra (Al qaida) and Daesh. This Tartour handles Orwerlien language well, namely, the lie becomes truth !!”, Wrote another Tunisian Facebooker.

Marzouki withdrew from political life November 24 after a collateral defeat in both legislative and presidential elections.

He came in eleventh place in the first round of the presidential election in mid-September with 3% of the vote. Marzouki's Al Harak party won no seats in the last legislative elections held in October.