Rabat – With Spain-Morocco relations expected to considerably improve after Spain announced its endorsement of Morocco’s stance on Western Sahara, Spanish officials at the port city of Algeciras are optimistic about the return and future of bilateral maritime relations in the strait of Gibraltar.
Gerardo Landaluce, president of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA), said he hopes that the re-normalization of relations between Spain and Morocco will allow the restoration of passengers and shipment services between the two sides of the strait, which has been closed for the past two years.
Arguing that Morocco and Spain have reached a new stage in bilateral relations, Landaluce called on the Spanish government to not only “normalize diplomatic but also economic relations.” His hope is for the maritime traffic between the countries to return to its pre-COVID state sooner rather than later.
“We hope that these declarations will be able to materialize soon because there is a sector of our port area which has been (struggling, sic) for two years with the interruption of the maritime relations. We hope they get back to normal as soon as possible ,” the president of the APBA explained.
The mayor of Algeciras, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, blamed both Morocco and Spain for bringing bilateral trade to a halt amid the pandemic and diplomatic tensions.
“Neither of the two governments has done well and both can be criticized,” he stated. “It is time to avoid suffering and seek meetings to normalize relations between both countries because there is already a lot of suffering to aggravate it with this situation that is cursing so much economic damage to many families.”
Like the president of APBA, the Spanish mayor also appeared optimistic about the meaning of Spanish-Moroccan political rapprochement for economic relations between the two countries.
“We must congratulate ourselves for seeking a solution to a conflict that has lasted too long. We must seek the interests of the good neighborhood, our companies, and our economy,” he concluded.
Morocco suspended passenger traffic with Spain via the Gibraltar strait two years ago, citing precautionary measures imposed by the COVID crisis.
Read also: Morocco’s Decision to Exclude Spanish Ports to Cost Spain €1.15 Billion
Since the suspension, shipping companies and the firms that provide them with services in the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa have been thrown into an unprecedented economic crisis.
The two-year cancellation of Morocco’s Operation Marhaba only aggravated the crisis. In previous editions, Operation Marhaba coordinated the passage and return of over three million passengers and nearly 800,000 vehicles between Europe and Morocco each summer.
