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Rabat — Spain’s King Felipe VI is reportedly interested in visiting the two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla “in the near future.”
The president of the Melilla Business Federation (CEME-CEOE) Enrique Alcoba, who recently had a meeting with the Spanish monarch at Zarzuela Palace, renewed his invitation to Felipe VI to visit the enclaves.
The meeting brought together the recently renewed executive committee of the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Cepyme).
Alcoba said that the Spanish king “committed and showed great interest” in visiting. He expressed confidence that the central government will allow the king to visit the two enclaves, where “we will receive him as befits his status.”
Alcoba further noted that “Being outside the peninsula, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla add to the experience and make us feel more Spanish.”
Notably, a Spanish monarch has not visited the enclaves since 2007, with a visit from Felipe VI’s father, former King Juan Carlos I, and Queen Sofia.
Queen Sofia returned to the city in May 2025 in her capacity as president of the Queen Sofia Foundation to learn about the social work carried out by Melilla’s Food Bank.
The Melilla Business Federation meeting was also an opportunity for the Acoboda to brief the Spanish king about difficulties facing small and medium enterprises in Spain, particularly those with no more than five employees.
The conversation addressed challenges facing different sectors that represent small and medium enterprises at the national level.
The meeting at Zarzuela Palace was led by federation president Angela de Miguel, with the presence of Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) president Antonio Garamendi.
Morocco’s colonized enclaves
Ceuta and Melilla are two coastal enclaves located on the northern shores of Morocco, under Spanish control. Madrid classifies the two cities as autonomous cities, having the same administrative status to Spain’s mainland regions.
Spain has occupied Ceuta since 1580 – after inheriting it from Portugal – and Melilla since 1497, making them among the oldest European colonial outposts on the African continent.
Over the years, some of the Spanish parties, specifically the far-right Vox, have used the existence of the enclaves to fuel tensions between the European and North African countries.
Morocco country does not officially recognize Spanish sovereignty over the two enclaves and has consistently demanded their return, as they are regarded as remnants of colonialism that violate the country’s territorial integrity.
