Rabat – Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha Gonzalez Laya chaired the inauguration ceremony of the new headquarters of the General Consulate of Spain in Rabat on today.
The visit is her first official foreign trip outside of Europe.
During the inauguration ceremony, the Spanish minister thanked the consulate’s staff for their role in strengthening relations between the two kingdoms.
“I want to thank the Spanish and local staff of this consulate for their enormous work,” the FM said.
She added that the work of the consulate is “extremely important,” saying that “contributes to strengthening the strategic relations that Spain maintains with Morocco.”
جددت رئيسة الديبلوماسية الإسبانية السيدة @AranchaGlezLaya
خلال لقائها مع رئيس الحكومةالتأكيد على المواقف الثابتة للمملكة الإسبانية تجاه #المملكة_المغربية وقضاياها،وأعربت عن تشبث حكومة بلادها بمواصلة العمل الديبلوماسي المشترك لأجل الدفع بالشراكة المغربية الإسبانية لأعلى المستويات pic.twitter.com/5cwT7mGEcT— رئيس الحكومة -المغرب (@ChefGov_ma) January 24, 2020
Prior to the inauguration ceremony, the Spanish FM met with Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.
The two parties seized on the meeting to welcome the “quality of bonds of friendship and good neighborliness uniting the two kingdoms,” a statement from the head of government’s office announced.
The two officials renewed their determination to continue coordination at different levels to develop bilateral relations and to face common challenges, the press release added.
The head of government’s office did not, however, mention talks about maritime border issues.
Earlier this week, the Moroccan government adopted two draft bills to redefine the country’s maritime borders.
Ahead of her visit, the Spanish official said that Morocco could not take such a “unilateral” decision without negotiations. Morocco’s government announced its willingness to engage in a dialogue with Spain to discuss the matter.
The Spanish FM is expected to discuss the issue with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita during her visit.
El Othmani and Laya examined the means of strengthening multilateral cooperation as well as the “prospects for partnership to promote tripartite cooperation” for the benefit of “friendly African countries,” the statement from the PM’s office concluded.
