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Join on Telegram Rabat – Negotiations surrounding the transfer of Western Sahara airspace from Spain to Morocco are still ongoing, according to a statement from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported by Spanish media.
Media reports indicate that the ongoing negotiations are of an “unofficial” nature and aim to establish a “co-management of the airspace” in Western Sahara.
The Western Sahara airspace is currently controlled from the Canary Islands under international law and the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency responsible for overseeing international civil aviation.
Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirms that “unofficial contacts between the two countries are maintained,” without offering any further details.
The European country first acknowledged holding talks with Morocco in March 2022 when the Spanish government announced that preliminary talks were underway with Morocco regarding the transfer of jurisdictions.
The announcement is in compliance with point number 7 of the Joint Declaration, which was signed in April 2022 during Prime Minister Sanchez’s visit to Rabat in the wake of restoring diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Spain’s airport authority, ENAIRE, and its Moroccan counterparts, ONDA, have already signed an agreement to facilitate coordinated movements.
As part of the agreement, ONDA’s regional control center in Casablanca has granted initial authorization for flights entering and departing from the airports of Laayoune, Dakhla, and Es-Smara. Control of these flights is handed over to the control centers located in the Canary Islands.
Read also: Morocco, Spain Start Negotiations over Western Sahara Airspace
The airspace agreement is among the various measures being undertaken by Spain and Morocco to strengthen their bilateral ties, following a period of diplomatic tensions between 2021 and 2022.
The strained relations between the two countries emerged after Spain hosted Polisario leader Brahim Ghali. However, they began to reconcile in early 2022, with Spain officially expressing support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan concerning the Western Sahara region.
Since then, there has been a significant improvement in cooperation between Spain and Morocco.
