Casablanca – Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares expressed his understanding of the postponement of the Moroccan-Spanish high-level meeting, now scheduled to take place in early 2023. The postponement was announced earlier this week by Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita.
“The words he said are words that I could also say and this shows the excellent state of our relationship and the excellent harmony,” Albares said this Thursday during his official visit to the United States.
Albares added that the only thing left to do is to agree mutually on the official date for it to take place.
Albares also agreed that the high-level meeting requires extensive planning and preparation, especially since it is supposed to include several ministers from both countries.
The Spanish official expressed his belief that the meeting will be “a new step in the Spanish-Moroccan friendship and in that mutually beneficial relationship.”
Read also: High Level Morocco-Spain Meeting Postponed Again Amid Silent Rift
The postponement decision was announced by the Moroccan foreign minister during a press briefing on October 18 in Rabat, on the occasion of the Morocco-EU green partnership signing ceremony.
Bourita confirmed that the high-level meeting has been rescheduled for early 2023, noting that the change will allow “enough time to prepare the parliamentary forum, the business forum, and the mobilization of all stakeholders in this relationship.”
Morocco and Spain held their most recent high-level meeting in 2019, prior to COVID-19 and the diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently announced a historic shift in his country’s stance on the Western Sahara dispute. Diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco have been regaining momentum since then.
