The Spanish Minister is due to travel to Morocco on Tuesday, September 3, during his visit he will meet with his Moroccan counterpart.
Rabat – The Spanish Ministry of Interior has announced that Minister of the Interior Fernando Grqnde Marlaska will travel to Morocco on Tuesday September 3 for a working visit.
The minister’s agenda includes a meeting with Morocco’s interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 4.
Europa Press reported that the aim of the meeting is to “reinforce the existing cooperation” between Rabat and Madrid, especially in the control of migration flows and criminal networks.
The news outlet said that Spain is facing pressure from undocumented migration, stating that more than 18,396 migrants arrived in Spain irregularly in 2019. The statistics come from the International Organization of Migration (IOM).
The number represents 43.3% less than the same period in 2018, when 32,451 migrants arrived in 2018.
In March, Spanish Minister of Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that Morocco’s security services are “leading to a decline in the arrival of migrants to the Spanish coasts.”
He added that “coordination with the countries of origin and transit in the fight against these networks has led, since February, to a decline in migrant arrivals that is being confirmed during this month of March.”
Morocco considers Spain one of its major partners in the fight against irregular migration.
The visit of the Spanish official came after the Spanish acting government approved on August 23, a €32 million grant to back Morocco’s efforts to curb irregular migration.
Read Also: Minister: Morocco Thwarts 57,000 Irregular Migration Attempts in 2019
The visit of the interior minister will also follow two important visits of both the Spanish royal family earlier this year and the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.
On November 19, Sanchez visited Morocco, where he met with King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and other Moroccan officials.
Sanchez also visited Morocco in December, when he participated in the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Migration.
