Fatima Zahra El Mansouri, the coordinator of the collective leadership of the General Secretariat of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), has emphasized the importance of bilateral ties with Spain. But she also insisted that Morocco will not give up on its positions, particularly with regard to the return of minors following the late July Ceuta mass crossings.
El Mansouri made her remarks in a press conference on Thursday in Rabat, following the legislative elections that PAM won with 97 seats.
PAM came on top of the legislative elections chart, followed by the National Rally of Independents and Al Istiqlal. The three parties were already part of the governing coalition following the 2021 elections, which the party of outgoing Head of Government Aziz Akhannouchi had won. Meanwhile, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) came fourth in this year’s election with 54 seats.
It remains to be seen whether the outgoing coalition will stay the same or PAM, now the party with the most seats, will decide to open the governing tent to other parties.
Commenting on ties with Madrid, El Mansouri described the bilateral relations as “historical, deep and necessary,” despite divergences in some areas.
“Our position regarding migration, particularly the issue of Moroccan minors, is well known. These are our children, and we need to work with the Spanish government to ensure that they return to their country. That is where the divergences happened,” she said.
Since the mass crossings that took place on July 30-31 to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Morocco has repeatedly urged Spain to speed up the process of migrants’ return – especially minors.
In August, outgoing Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi accused Spanish authorities of constantly obstructing efforts to repatriate the Moroccan minors.
In another interview with German broadcaster DW, Ouahbi emphasized that Morocco is demanding the minors return.
“This is not an issue that emerged today, yesterday, or because of the latest incident,” he said.
Ouahbi is a member of PAM, and there have been suggestions that he could retain his position in the government.
El Mansouri appeared to attribute some aspects of recent Rabat-Madrid tensions to the fact that both Morocco and Spain were separately dealing with electoral campaigns which exerted pressure on both governments.
However, she said she is “very optimistic about relations between Morocco and Spain, first because of our historical relationship.”
The PAM coordinator acknowledged that ties between the two countries face challenges, but stressed that “good-neighborly relations remain important to us.”
El Mansouri notably cited economic, commercial, and diplomatic relations as the important reasons why Rabat and Madrid are bound to maintain their strategic cooperation in spite of some lingering divergences.
“We are optimistic that we will find solutions, but we will not compromise on positions that we consider matters of human rights and the dignity of our people. Those who remain there [in Ceuta] are our sons and daughters who went there, some of whom are still 18 years old, and we want to help them return to their homeland and their families,” she concluded.
Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares echoed El Mansouri’s remarks, stating it is essential to maintain good ties with Rabat.
He ruled out a change in ties with the North African kingdom following the legislative elections held in Morocco on Wednesday.
El Mansouri also showed her party’s openness to preserve bilateral ties, ruling out any “red line” when it comes to alliances. She said PAM respects all parties that share its values.
“There is no party with which we refuse to sit at the same table and engage in discussions,” she said.
Her remarks came after PJD Leader Abdelilah Benkirane said today that his party would refuse to be in a PAM-led government.
A government led by the party would be “questionable,” he said at a PJD meeting where he took issue with reported perception of irregularities in the elections. PMA’s victory “is tainted by an electoral [fraud] operation,” he said.
