Yesterday in Rabat, Mohamed VI granted the expected audience to Pedro Sánchez, pending since a year ago the unexpected absence of the Alawite monarch marred the high-level meeting of February 2023 in the Moroccan capital. The president of the Spanish Government, very satisfied after the meeting, immediately celebrated that the relations between Morocco and Spain are experiencing the best moment “in decades”.
Sánchez was very grateful for the “hospitality and warm welcome” offered to him by the king of Morocco, with whom he met at the royal palace in Rabat. However, the meeting did not aim to conclude new agreements, but to advance and consolidate those that had already been signed in the last bilateral summit and in the new “road map” that had been sealed in 2022 between the two executives, which certified the Spanish turn to the issue of Western Sahara and buried the last diplomatic crisis between the two countries after the hospitalization in Logronyo of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Gali.
After the royal audience, Sánchez reaffirmed himself yesterday in this roadmap and in his position, “clearly set” in the bilateral document, on the Sahrawi issue, which he assured that he continues to consider it to be the most “realistic” basis to resolve this eternal conflict, despite the discrepancies of its coalition partner in the central government – ??formerly Podemos and now Sumar –, which continues to defend the independence of Western Sahara.
Sánchez highlighted the “excellent cooperation” between Morocco and Spain in the fight against irregular migration, drug trafficking and terrorism, in addition to commercial exchanges that already reach, for the first time, 23,000 million euros
Among the pending issues from the agreements of last year’s high-level meeting, the openings of land customs in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla stand out, however. The president of the Executive assured that progress is being made towards “customs normalization” in these enclaves, although he returned to Madrid yesterday without a specific date.
Pedro Sánchez pointed out that, on the Spanish side, “everything is ready” to open these customs, while Morocco is completing the final preparations. And he announced that “soon” a meeting will be held between both governments to “clarify the customs regulations”, as the last step for the openings.
The president then pointed out that there are “no political or legal reasons” for this delay, but phytosanitary and food traceability.
Mohamed VI received Sánchez yesterday afternoon, at the royal palace in Rabat, in an appointment that made up for the absence of a year ago. This time, the Moroccan king exchanged a few words in Spanish when he received the Spanish representative, who conveyed to him the affectionate greeting of King Felipe VI.
The Alawite monarch confessed to him that he has not spoken on the phone with the Spanish king for a long time. And Sánchez assured him that Felipe VI will be happy to talk to him, because he has a very special affection for him, and also for Morocco. King Felipe, Sánchez informed him, particularly remembers the state visit he made to Morocco with Queen Letícia in 2019.
Earlier, Sánchez was received at Rabat airport by the Moroccan head of government, Aziz Akhannuix, with whom he held a long meeting in the morning, lasting more than two hours, followed by a hearty traditional lunch with up to seven courses. Both reviewed the main issues on the bilateral agenda. Sources from the Spanish Executive stressed that the meeting served “to verify the excellent state in which relations are in all areas”.
Sánchez and Akhannuix thus discussed the infrastructure projects needed in Morocco to host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. “There will be many opportunities for Spanish companies, which are very well situated”, remarked the Spanish delegation. In addition, among these projects in the portfolio are some large-scale ones, such as the regional railway network. It was clear to Sánchez the enormous interest of the Moroccan authorities in the soccer World Cup, and they also asked for a more structured presence of Spanish companies in the neighboring country, particularly the Ibex 35. This will be one of the topics that Sánchez wants push for the next high-level meeting with Morocco, which will be in Spain in 2025.
The two presidents, according to the Spanish delegation, also reviewed the magnificent cooperation and coordination in all areas of security, such as the fight against terrorism and the networks of irregular migration and human trafficking.
And they also addressed, among other issues, the conflict in Gaza. Morocco, according to these sources, assessed “very positively the courageous position that the Government of Spain has maintained from the beginning in this crisis”.
