Rabat: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates provided details on the latest developments in Morocco-Spain relations in a statement released on Thursday.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the Ministry emphasized that the Kingdom of Morocco has sovereignly chosen to engage, together with the Kingdom of Spain, in a relationship of good geographical neighborliness, political understanding, economic partnership, and security cooperation. This approach reached its fullest expression in the Joint Declaration of April 7, 2022, following the meeting between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President of the Spanish Government, H.E. Pedro Sanchez. This Declaration marked a new phase in relations, based on the essential principles of mutual respect, mutual trust, ongoing dialogue, and the aspiration for a mutually beneficial partnership.
The ministry specified that it is thanks to this approach that the two countries have succeeded in proactively fostering what unites the
m and in identifying their differences to be addressed with calm and respect. Tangible results have been achieved, particularly in the economic sphere, with Spain as Morocco’s leading economic partner and Morocco as Spain’s second-largest trading partner outside the European Union. In security cooperation, lives have been saved, and terrorist and criminal networks have been dismantled, often at the cost of human casualties and property damage suffered by Moroccan forces.
Cooperation on migration has always been coordinated and effective. The unfortunate events of last July require a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances, identify any interference, expose any manipulation, and ensure that they never happen again. The Ministry questions why accusations against Morocco persist without evidence and why illegal migrants and unaccompanied minors are not being returned, despite Morocco’s commitment to readmitting them.
Morocco regrets that some Spanish political and media circles persist in exploit
ing the Kingdom for domestic political purposes. It is particularly regrettable that long-standing political parties could fall into a quagmire where unreasonable and populist escalation prevails over common sense. Similarly, it is unfortunate that reputable legislative and judicial institutions err through ill-advised initiatives that lead to discord, fueling a strategy of fear detrimental to all.
The Kingdom of Morocco refuses to be used as a pre-election political pawn or a scapegoat in political score-settling. Geographical proximity is an immutable reality, and it is political leaders who, through courage and vision, turn it into an asset for the future. Strategic blindness, on the other hand, will transform this asset into a source of chronic mistrust and recurring tensions.