Condoleezza Rice: Ftour, Flower, and Sahara

The plane was two hours late, September 6, on the tarmac in Rabat, when the American Secretary of State arrived.

Condoleezza Rice had taken the first bites of the ftour in Algeria with President Bouteflika. She had barely tasted the main course by the time she was sharing dinner with [Moroccan Prime Minister] Abbas El Fassi and his counterpart [Foreign Minister] Taïb Fassi Fihri.

Also on the menu for her visit: the Sahara. “There are good ideas on the table and the means to achieve them,” she said, adding, “We are looking for a mutually acceptable solution.”

Condoleezza Rice finished her tour of the Maghreb Sunday, digesting the Lenôtre chocolates offered to her by Mohammed VI. Small consolation for having had to leave the five-meter bouquet of flowers the King had her wear. It was too bulky for the plane.