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Doha – Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita stated on Tuesday that Morocco is ready to receive unaccompanied Moroccan minors currently in European Union countries “as of tomorrow,” but criticized complications in repatriation stemming from “gaps in laws and procedures” in those countries, according to reports from Spanish news agency EFE.
In a joint press conference in Rabat with Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo, Bourita called on EU countries to find “solutions” to this issue.
He noted that Morocco has discussed the return of Moroccan minors with France and Spain, asserting that legal and administrative gaps are being exploited by human trafficking networks.
“Morocco is ready to take back all irregular immigrants who prove it, but is the other side ready to do so?” Bourita asked, suggesting that the situation would change if solutions to these legal and administrative gaps were found.
Bourita emphasized that migration is a “shared responsibility” between countries of origin, transit, and reception. “If we put pressure on transit countries, it’s a dangerous approach,” he added, according to the EFE report.
The Moroccan Foreign Minister also cautioned against overemphasizing the migration issue, noting that migration from African countries accounts for just 0.23% of global migration.
“Eight out of 10 African migrants stay in African countries, only 2% go abroad,” Bourita said, calling for avoiding rhetoric that “Africa is going to invade Europe,” as there is a “difference between the figures, the reality and the discourse.”
Read also: Spanish Media Witnesses Morocco’s Thorough Efforts to Secure Border with Ceuta
Regarding unaccompanied minors arriving in the Canary Islands, President Clavijo said he discussed with Bourita “the possibility of working together with Morocco to improve” their management.
“The minister has outlined paths that have shed light, we will have to talk to the Government of Spain, there are important and very hopeful avenues with a clear message to the mafias that this is not the way,” Clavijo said, per EFE.
According to El País, President Clavijo praised the “enormous effort” of the Moroccan government to curb the rise of irregular immigration, which he emphasized would be “unmanageable” without Morocco’s cooperation.
Clavijo, who is scheduled to visit Moncloa Palace on Thursday, said he agreed with Bourita to open a space for joint work between Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands to enable the return home of unaccompanied Moroccan minors, who account for 5,400 of those currently in the care of regional social services, El País reported.
The Canary Islands President said he fully shares the position of the Spanish Government, which favors autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, a sensitive issue in the archipelago which has high levels of solidarity with the Polisario Front.
