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Rabat – Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis is expected to land in Morocco on Wednesday to hold bilateral talks with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita.
During his visit, Dastis will address issues of mutual interest for both countries, including trade, tourism, immigration policies and measures against terrorism, Spanish news agency Europa Press reported.
Dastis paid his first foreign visit to Morocco in February 2017, when he held talks with Morocco’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Salaheddine Mezouar.
In a statement made to the press after the meeting, Dastis said “Spain and Morocco have exemplary relations at all levels.”
Spain is among Morocco’s main European trade customers in terms of total exports, which increased by 11.2 percent over the past year.
Data from the European Statistical Office published in February shows that Spain has been a primary export destination and an importer of Moroccan goods since 2012.
In 2017, electrical materials were Morocco’s main export to Spain, making up 29.3 percent of the northbound trade between the countries. Electrical materials are followed by clothes at 23.1 percent, and mollusks and crustaceans at 8.1 percent.
Morocco and Spain also have a strong cooperation in the fight against terrorism. On May 9, Spanish Minister of Interior Juan Ignacio Zoido underscored the efficiency of Moroccan-Spanish security cooperation following the arrest of a five-member cell with alleged connections to ISIS in north Morocco and Spain.
“I would like to congratulate Moroccan security services for the anti-terrorism operation, which was crowned today by the arrest of five alleged terrorists who belong to a cell meant to perpetrate attacks in Spain and Europe,” said the Spanish minister.
