Rabat - Morocco's King Mohammed met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam on Monday, days after a report said Islam was leaving Libya to work abroad.
A senior north African diplomat said the meeting suggested Islam, who has called for reform in Libya, was still Gaddafi's most trusted envoy and was not withdrawing from politics.
An official source in Tripoli said last week that Islam, whom many Libyans had hoped would continue pushing for reform of Libya's politics and state-dominated economy, was leaving to work in an international economic institution overseas.
Some dissidents abroad who had contacts with him in recent years said they feared his reported departure may herald an end to the reform efforts.
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But the senior North African diplomat told Reuters that Islam's talks with King Mohammed in Casablanca showed he was still trusted by his father.
"He was meeting King Mohammed as Gaddafi's emissary. If the report about Islam leaving the country to work abroad suggested a withdrawal from Libya's politics, the visit to Morocco suggests otherwise," said the diplomat, who did not want to named because he is not allowed to talk to the media.
Islam told Libyans at a gathering in August that Libya was at an impasse and needed political and economic reforms to free the people from a "Libyan mafia" monopolising power and wealth.
Libya's Jamahiryia political system is inspired by Gaddafi's philosophy set out in his Green Book. It combines socialist and Islamic thought and opposes communism and Western liberal democracy.
Morocco wants closer ties with Libya as it seeks support for a plan to grant autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara and break a three-decade impasse.
The Algeria-backed Polisario Front aims to create a fully independent state in Western Sahara. Libya had supported the Polisario with weapons and money before later changing its mind.
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