Josep Borrell visita Marruecos
Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union (EU), will officially visit Morocco this Thursday and Friday in what will be a new important contact between the European Community institution and the Moroccan kingdom.
The head of European diplomacy is expected to meet with Aziz Akhannouch, head of the Moroccan government, and with Nasser Bourita, the Kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad.
The official agenda also includes a visit by the European ambassador to the city of Fez, which hosts the Euro-Mediterranean University, where he will give a conference, according to EU sources.
In this way, a new rapprochement is taking place between the head of European diplomacy and Morocco after a bilateral summit was cancelled in Rabat last September following some controversial statements made by Josep Borrell during an interview with RTVE on Western Sahara and an alleged holding of a 'consultation' with the Sahrawi people on their status.
Josep Borrell moderated his words, but Morocco showed its anger in any case by cancelling the meeting in the Rabat capital, something that was announced last August by Nasser Bourita himself, who spoke of 'inappropriate' statements.
This issue is of vital importance for the North African country. Over the last few years, Morocco has been carrying out an intense diplomatic campaign to consolidate its proposed resolution of the Sahrawi conflict, which involves broad autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, respecting the postulates of the United Nations (UN). The Moroccan kingdom's formula has received much international support, including from very important countries such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Spain, the former metropolis that controlled the territory during the colonial period.
The North African nation's initiative is considered the most serious and realistic way to put an end to a problem that has lasted for more than four decades. Meanwhile, the position of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, which advocates holding a referendum on independence for the Saharawi people, which is very difficult to achieve, as several experts have pointed out, is opposed to this.
The Saharawi issue is one of the political issues pitting Morocco and Algeria against each other in the Maghreb. These two political rivals have been engaged in a bitter regional dispute for years, and the relationship has been complicated, especially since Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with its Moroccan neighbour in August 2021.
The intention now with Josep Borrell's visit, which will take place between Thursday and Friday, as reported by the EFE news agency, is to deepen the strategic relationship between the EU and Morocco with a view to maintaining good diplomatic harmony.
Josep Borrell and Nasser Bourita met last September in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and both affirmed their 'mutual desire to deepen dialogue and cooperation, within the framework of the strategic partnership between the European Union and Morocco', as stated in a joint communiqué published at the time. All of this, to iron out differences after the disagreement over the statements made by the EU High Representative on the holding of a Sahrawi consultation, which led to the cancellation of his official visit to Morocco, according to what Moroccan diplomatic sources confirmed to the EFE news agency at the time.
In any case, this important upcoming summit is yet another demonstration of Morocco's strategic importance for the EU. Not only with regard to the Western Sahara issue, but also with regard to highly relevant matters such as the fight against terrorism and the control of irregular migration. The North African country has already amply demonstrated its willingness and cooperation in the fight against these scourges that directly affect Europe, and in this sense it is a vital partner for EU and Western interests.