In the first high-level bilateral summit between Spain and Morocco in eight years, the two nations signed 20 different agreements that, according to Spain’s Premier, “consolidate a new era of mutual trust and genuine cooperation like it’s never existed before,” Anadolu News Agency reports.
Le Chef du Gouvernement, S.E.M. Aziz Akhannouch, et le Président du Gouvernement espagnol, S.E.M. Pedro Sánchez, ont coprésidé, aujourd'hui à Rabat, les travaux de la XIIème session de la Réunion de Haut Niveau Maroc-Espagne.
@sanchezcastejon @jmalbares @EmbEspanaRabat pic.twitter.com/bjat02z4lw— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) February 2, 2023
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and 11 of his ministers met with their Moroccan counterparts on Thursday to “establish the bases for the type of bilateral relationship we want now and in the future.”
Besides the 19 agreements, Sanchez said the two nations vowed to avoid policies or discourse that will “offend the other party, especially when it comes to our respective spheres of sovereignty.”
La 12ème session de la Réunion de Haut Niveau Maroc-Espagne a été couronnée par la signature de 19 accords dans plusieurs domaines, notamment en matière de Coopération triangulaire et de Gestion des migrations.@sanchezcastejon @jmalbares @EmbEspanaRabat @Emb_Marruecos pic.twitter.com/2ntobYT4yP
— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) February 2, 2023
With that, Sanchez was likely alluding to Morocco’s claims on Western Sahara and Spain’s two North African enclaves — Ceuta and Melilla.
Les accords signés ont aussi porté sur le domaine de la Recherche et développement ; la Coopération universitaire ainsi que les Bibliothèques et les Archives.@miqueliceta pic.twitter.com/8e0YjTAwZ2
— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) February 2, 2023
Rabat and Madrid also established a new communication pathway that will allow the countries to discuss urgent issues privately, “no matter how complicated”.
Among the agreements signed, the countries agreed to find new ways of “regulated migration” and to normalised circulation between Moroccan and Spanish territories.
Spain also announced an €800 million ($869 million) credit line for Spanish businesses to invest in strategic sectors in Morocco like water, agriculture, tourism and rail. Other agreements were related to culture, education and language.
Sanchez said both countries stand to benefit from the transition to green energy.
While the Spanish leader hailed Thursday’s meeting as a “milestone for Spain and Morocco”, not everyone agreed.
“Sanchez is proving he’s an international lightweight in this summit in Morocco. Half of his own government stood him up, as did King Mohammed VI, who only called him by phone. It’s hard to be more ridiculous,” said Elias Bendodo, a leader within Spain’s conservative Popular Party.
Akhannouch also praised the courage of the Spanish government in adopting the autonomy project, stressing that the economic forum will be “an occasion to strengthen and support economic partnerships and accelerate the pace of joint investment in light of the political dynamism in relations between the two countries.”
“The relations between Morocco and Spain are deep and close,” he said, noting that “exchanges between Morocco and Spain are rich and constantly renewed.”
Ouverture en ce moment du Forum économique Maroc 🇲🇦 – Espagne 🇪🇸 à Rabat. pic.twitter.com/MsLihzTxNF
— CGEM (@CGEM_MA) February 1, 2023
He touched on the difficulties encountered in the relations between the two countries and their success in overcoming them, saying, “If these relations had suffered, at some periods, from misunderstanding, we have always found ways to overcome that.”
Akhannouch talked about strengthening cooperation with Spain in the field of combating terrorism by dismantling terrorist cells of ISIS and in the issue of irregular migration, “by successfully preventing 63,000 attempts at illegal immigration and dismantling 250 networks for smuggling migrants in 2021.”
The immigration file is strategic in the relations of the two countries, as the flow of irregular migrants to Spain decreased by 25 percent in 2022, according to Spanish official figures, thanks to the resumption of security cooperation between the two countries in this field.
Akhannouch dealt with the issue of energy cooperation with Spain, pointing to the importance of the Maghreb-European gas pipeline, which enabled Spain to supply gas for 25 years through Moroccan territory.
Referring to Algeria cutting off gas from Spain due to its new stance on the Sahara issue, Akhannouch said, “In view of the current geopolitical data, two countries have shown a high sense of cooperation and flexibility by maintaining this line and reversing the flow of the pipeline in order to supply Morocco with liquefied natural gas through Spain.”
This rapprochement between the two countries also comes in the context of the cooling of relations between Rabat and Paris, Morocco’s other historical partner.The political class and local media in Morocco accuse Paris of being behind a recommendation recently adopted by the European Parliament on freedom of the press in Morocco, and allegations of bribery of European parliamentarians in an attempt to put pressure on Rabat. The Spanish Socialist members of the European Parliament voted against this text, which reveals the extent of the development of relations between the two countries, which reached strategic phases.
“The better the relations between Morocco and Spain, the better for Spain, for Morocco, for Europe, for businesses and for the citizens of both countries,” Sanchez said at the closing of the economic forum.
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