Rabat – Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that his country’s partnership with Morocco is the leading priority for Spain’s foreign policy.
The Spanish foreign minister made his remarks in a recent interview ahead of his two-day official visit to Morocco.
Albares is set to arrive in Morocco today, when he will meet with senior officials to discuss and explore means to advance the already strong bilateral ties.
“The strategic partnership between Morocco and Spain is now a multidimensional partnership because it encompasses all areas,” he said, recalling the roadmap adopted in April 2022 between Rabat and Madrid.
The roadmap was ratified during the visit of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Morocco, where he met with King Mohammed VI. The visit follows Spain’s decision to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most credible solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
The announcement ended a year-long diplomatic crisis between the two countries, triggered by Spain’s decision to host Polisario leader Brahim Ghali for his hospitalization a year earlier in 2021.
“This partnership between the two countries is reflected above all by the trust we have in each other as strategic partners with very high-level political relations and increasingly strong human relations,” the Spanish FM said.
He also touted the win-win cooperation between the two countries, covering several areas, including the fight against human trafficking and terrorism among other security challenges.
He also touted trade cooperation between the two countries, adding that trade exchanges between Rabat and Madrid have reached 20 billion euros, establishing Spain as Morocco’s top customer and supplier.
He added that Morocco is Spain’s third-largest trading partner outside the EU, surpassed only by the US and the UK.
In addition to trade, Albares is full of praise for the development of “human ties” between Spain and Morocco.
He said that over a million of Moroccans live in “perfect integration in our country and contribute to the prosperity of Spain.”
Source : Morocco World News
