Doha – The Secretary of State for Security of Spain, Rafael Pérez, described Morocco as a “priority partner” in migration policy during the XXI Meeting of the Spanish-Moroccan Permanent Group on Migration held in Marrakech on Monday.
According to Spanish news agency EFE, Pérez commented on the “downward trend” in the arrival of irregular migrants to Spanish coasts, crediting the collaboration of the Maghreb country for this reduction.
Pérez expressed gratitude for Morocco’s “commitment and effort” in combating human trafficking, transnational organized crime, and terrorism.
He highlighted the decrease in irregular migrant arrivals in the Strait of Gibraltar, the Alboran Sea, and the eastern Canary Islands, stating that these statistics “confirm Morocco’s collaboration in preventing irregular migration.”
The meeting, now in its 22nd edition, has been held annually since 2003 and was attended by high-level delegations from both countries.
The Spanish delegation was led by the Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, while the Moroccan delegation was headed by the Director of Migration and Border Surveillance, Khalid Zerouali.
During the meeting, both parties discussed the need for continued collaboration in migration matters to combat human trafficking networks and jointly manage formulas that promote orderly and safe migration.
Cancela referred to the “exemplary collaboration” and “strengthened relationship” between the two countries in this area, which is articulated in the 2001 bilateral labor agreement.
Morocco has been instrumental in addressing the recent surge in migration attempts, particularly during the events of September 15, which saw thousands of young Moroccans, encouraged by social media calls, attempt to breach the border fence between the northern Moroccan city of Fnideq and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Moroccan security forces successfully prevented all breaches and intercepted a total of 4,455 individuals – including 519 foreign nationals – over a span of six days.
In response, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, praised Morocco’s efforts in tackling the mass migration attempts.
In a speech to the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Albares emphasized the importance of cooperation between Madrid and Rabat in foiling thousands of attempts at irregular migration bound for Spain.
He even called on the far-right party Vox, which had criticized the government’s migration cooperation with Morocco, to “acknowledge the work done by Moroccan security forces.”
Several Spanish media outlets have also acknowledged Morocco’s thorough efforts to secure its borders.
El Debate, a Spanish newspaper, sent a special envoy to the Morocco-Ceuta border area in late August, who witnessed firsthand the extensive measures taken by Moroccan authorities to secure the frontier.
The reporter described the area as “absolutely shielded with fences and spirals of barbed wire that prevent the passage of any person to the sea.”
The increased cooperation between Spain and Morocco in managing border immigration has also been confirmed by Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who stated that Spanish army detachments in Ceuta and Melilla have reported Morocco’s cooperation as being “total and absolute.”
This sentiment was echoed by the professional association Justice for the Civil Guard (JUCIL), which applauded the joint stance of the “police shielding” on both sides of Ceuta’s border.
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