Morocco’s embassy in the Netherlands canceled a meeting with a Dutch official, whose approach to dialogue was described as “clumsy” by a Dutch MP.
Rabat – Dutch foreign affairs minister Stef Blok has said that diplomatic relations between his country and Morocco must improve.
The official made his statement last week after the Moroccan ambassador to the Netherlands canceled a meeting with State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol.
Blok, according to Dutch media, said that the decision to cancel a meeting “emphasizes the importance of improving the two countries’ relations.”
Knol planned to meet with the Moroccan diplomat to speak about Moroccan Asylum Seekers whose requests had failed in the Netherlands.
She claimed that she had been unable to speak to Moroccan officials about the issue of failed Moroccan asylum seekers.
Read Also: Morocco Denies Refusing to Discuss Moroccan Asylum Seekers with Netherlands
Morocco, however, denied ever having received a request for talks.
“Neither our Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rabat, nor us [the Moroccan embassy] have been approached by the Dutch government for a request to talk about this,” a spokesperson of the Moroccan embassy to the Netherlands told the Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws.
Sigrid Kaag, minister of foreign trade and development cooperation said that “it is out of the question that the Dutch government would not be welcomed by Morocco.”
Kaag described the situation as a miscommunication.
Dutch broadcaster NOS quoted MP Madeleine van Toorenburg who condemned the Dutch official decision to shrink the meeting’s agenda to only migration issues.
Dutch News said that Morocco’s embassy “expand the agenda” of the meeting to other issues, including trade.
The Dutch minister, however, reportedly opposed the proposal.
“How does she think things work in the diplomatic world. What powerlessness that she can’t make an appointment with the Moroccans,” MP Madeleine van Toorenburg told NOS.
The MP described the official’s decision as clumsy.
“That’s not the first time. How stupid can you be?” the MP added. She also described the situation as a “missed opportunity.”
“We need something from Morocco,” van Toorenburg said.
