Rabat – The Spanish Ministerial council gave its approval today on a cooperative agreement between Morocco and Spain on security and the fight against crime.
The Spanish council gave its official consent for the Convention Between the Spain and Morocco on Cooperation in Matters of Security and the Fight Against Crime in a meeting chaired by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The council also made the decision to submit the agreement to both chambers of Parliament, according to the Presidency of the Spanish government.
The presidency said the cooperation reflects the common concern between Spain and Morocco in terms of security and the scale of criminal phenomena, including human trafficking, terrorism, drug trafficking, and “new manifestations of transnational organized crime.”
The 15-article agreement contains the most important aspects of Spain-Morocco cooperation, providing details on the crimes that the convention will cover.
The Moroccan-Spanish cooperation agreement focuses on terrorism under the larger umbrella of organized crime, and outlines the framework for operations and investigation, revealed the same source.
On September 2, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita had a telephone conversation with his Spanish counterpart, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, about bilateral relations, and security-related regional issues. These included the Mediterranean, the Sahel, and the Middle East.
During the conversation, the two diplomats expressed pride in cooperation between Morocco and Spain.
“Morocco is proud of the security cooperation between the two countries, with serious joint efforts to curb terrorism, transnational insecurity, and organized crime,” Bourita stressed.
Meanwhile, Laya underlined that her visit to Morocco spoke to the two countries’ determination to maintain fruitful relations. She further noted that Spain regularly pushes the EU to support and cooperate with Morocco.
“Morocco is a source of stability for Spain,” the Spanish minister emphasized.
Prior to the agreement, Spain and Morocco already shared close cooperative ties in the fight against terrorism. Recently, in May, a joint operation between Spanish police, the US FBI, and Morocco’s General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance led to the arrest of a Moroccan man in Barcelona for his alleged ties to ISIS.
