Rabat – Morocco and Spain have agreed to further strengthen their evolving bilateral ties at all levels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday evening.
Sanchez announced the news on X, formerly Twitter, where he said he had held a phone call with Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akannouch to discuss the current state and future of Spain-Morocco relations.
“We have agreed on the importance of friendship between Spain and Morocco,” Sanchez wrote, adding that the two countries want to “promote the already agreed-upon bilateral agenda and explore new opportunities that this renewed relationship offers.”
Sanchez also expressed his determination to work with the Moroccan government towards “fostering closer relationships between Morocco and the European Union.”
The Spanish PM has made similar pledges in recent months, with Madrid having repeatedly stressed its readiness to maintain cordial relations with Morocco since the end of a year-long diplomatic crisis between the two neighbors.
In April 2021, the two countries witnessed one of their most serious diplomatic crises following the Spanish government’s decision to greenlight the hospitalization of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali on Spanish soil.
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Following a year of tensions, Spain decided to distance itself from the Ghali episode by officially endorsing Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, which it historically described as the most realistic and viable route to a lasting solution to the Western Sahara dispute.
The two countries closed this chapter by announcing a new roadmap for furthering diplomatic relations and cooperation at all levels, notably trade and security.
Earlier this year in April, Sanchez reaffirmed Morocco’s importance for Spain, describing the North African country as a “fundamental ally.”
Speaking to the Spanish Congress of Deputies amid a campaign by Spain’s far-right and radical leftist parties to undermine the newfound Rabat-Madrid axis, Sanchez said: “Morocco is a friendly country, a fundamental ally for the economic development of Spain and our gateway to Africa, as well as a fundamental ally for our security and management of immigration in our country and the whole European continent.”
