José Manuel Albares emphasises that there is a ‘better climate of co-operation than ever before’ between Morocco and Spain

José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed the ‘best climate of cooperation ever achieved’ in the history of diplomatic ties between Morocco and Spain that is currently being enjoyed.

The Spanish diplomat appeared before the Spanish Senate and highlighted the exceptional moment that Spanish-Moroccan diplomatic relations are going through.

The joint declaration adopted in April 2022, at the end of the talks between King Mohammed VI and the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, established ‘the best climate of cooperation and collaboration ever achieved’ in the history of relations between the two countries, Albares told the Senate. 

This meeting took place at the invitation of the Moroccan monarch to the Spanish head of government after he sent him a letter recognising Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara as the most ‘serious, credible and realistic’ option for resolving the Saharawi dispute almost five decades after the end of the Spanish colonial period.

This is very important for the Moroccan kingdom because it is an issue that has to do with its territorial integrity, as it claims Western Sahara as part of its southern provinces.

Morocco proposes wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, respecting the resolutions of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of developing the territory to the maximum and granting Saharawi authorities broad self-government, leaving foreign and defence policy in the hands of the Moroccan state. More than 100 countries, including powers such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Germany and Spain, have supported this proposal, which gives great international backing to the North African country in this still unresolved matter. 

This official Spanish decision opened a new stage of closer diplomatic relations between neighbours and allies on both sides of the Mediterranean. King Mohammed VI and Pedro Sánchez established a Road Map that was to mark the link between the two nations in the coming years.

Following this roadmap, in February 2023 the High Level Meeting (HLM) took place, led by Pedro Sánchez himself and the head of the Moroccan government, Aziz Akhannouch, at which dozens of agreements of all kinds affecting many sectors were signed, pacts that are very beneficial for both countries thanks to the close cooperation that currently exists.

This link is very beneficial on a political and economic level. In this sense, José Manuel Albares indicated in the Spanish Senate that commercial exchanges with Morocco have reached a historic level, close to 25,000 million euros, which demonstrates that the economic collaboration between both nations is exceptional and fruitful.

More than 15,000 Spanish companies regularly export to Morocco and another 660 are established in Moroccan territory, which demonstrates the confidence in and attractiveness of the Moroccan economic environment, according to the Spanish minister.

With regard to the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-organised by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs said that this important event is a historic opportunity to further strengthen the bonds of friendship and strategic partnership between the two nations. The three countries have been working intensively over recent months to finalise all the details of the next World Cup in 2030, a very important event that unites two continents, Europe and Africa, and for which there will be close cooperation and significant development of infrastructure and resources in order to be able to carry out one of the most important sporting events on the planet in an exceptional way.

José Manuel Albares also praised Morocco's work in containing illegal migration, stressing that it would be ‘uncontrollable’ without Rabat's cooperation. This was demonstrated by the latest major attempts to storm the border posts at Ceuta and Melilla in September 2024, which were organised through social networks.