Yesterday in Rabat, Mohamed VI granted his long-awaited audience to Pedro Sánchez, pending since, a year ago, the unexpected absence of the Alawite monarch marred the high-level meeting held in February 2023 in the Moroccan capital. The President of the Government, very satisfied after the meeting, then celebrated that relations between Morocco and Spain are going through their best moment "in decades."
Sánchez was very grateful for “the hospitality and warm welcome” given to him by the King of Morocco, with whom he met at the Royal Palace of Rabat. The meeting, however, was not intended to close new agreements, but rather to advance and consolidate those already signed in the last bilateral summit and in the new “roadmap” previously sealed in 2022 between both executives, which certified the Spanish turn towards the issue. of Western Sahara and buried the last diplomatic crisis suffered between both countries after the hospital care in Logroño of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Gali.
After the royal hearing, Sánchez reaffirmed yesterday in this roadmap and in his position, "clearly established" in said bilateral document, on the Sahrawi question, which he assured that he continues to consider the most "realistic" basis to resolve this eternal conflict. despite the discrepancies of its coalition partner in the Government –previously 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 have already reached, for the first time, 23 billion euros.
Among the pending issues from the agreements of last year's high-level meeting, however, the openings of land customs in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla stand out. The President of the Government assured that progress continues towards “customs normalization” in these enclaves, although yesterday he returned to Madrid without a specific date.
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 customs regulations,” as the last step for the openings.
The president himself later pointed out that there are no “political or legal causes” for this delay, but rather phytosanitary and food traceability.
Mohamed VI received Sánchez yesterday afternoon, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, in a meeting that marked the end of the sit-in from a year ago. On this occasion, the Moroccan king exchanged a few words in Spanish when receiving the Spanish leader, who conveyed to him the affectionate greetings of King Felipe VI.
The Alawite monarch confessed that it has been a long time since he spoke on the phone with the Spanish king. And Sánchez assured him that Felipe VI will be happy to speak with him, because he has a very special affection for him, and also for Morocco. King Felipe, Sánchez informed him, especially remembers the state visit that he made to Morocco, together with Queen Letizia, in 2019.
Previously, Sánchez was received at the Rabat airport by the head of the Moroccan Government, Aziz Ajanuch, with whom he held a long meeting of more than two hours in the morning, followed by a copious traditional lunch with up to seven courses. Both reviewed the main issues on the bilateral agenda. Sources from the Spanish Executive highlighted that the meeting served "to confirm the excellent state of relations in all areas."
Sánchez and Ajanuch thus discussed the infrastructure projects necessary in Morocco to host the 2030 World Cup together with Spain and Portugal. “There will be many opportunities for Spanish companies, which are very well located,” stressed the Spanish delegation. Among these projects in the portfolio, there are also some large-scale ones, such as the regional railway network. Sánchez was clear about the enormous interest of the Moroccan authorities in the World Cup, and they also demanded a more structured presence of Spanish companies in the neighboring country, especially the Ibex 35. This will be one of the issues that Sánchez wants to promote before the next high-level meeting with Morocco, which will be held in Spain in 2025.
Both leaders, according to the Spanish delegation, also reviewed “the magnificent cooperation and coordination in all areas of security, such as the fight against terrorism and networks of irregular migration and human trafficking.”
And they also addressed, among other issues, the conflict in Gaza. Morocco, according to these sources, valued “very positively the brave position that the Government of Spain has maintained from the beginning in this crisis.”
