Las conexiones marítimas entre Marruecos y España se reanudarán a principio de abril
The opening of maritime connections between Morocco and Spain is expected to resume at the beginning of April. This decision comes after Rabat decided to close the borders for months. According to sources in the daily Rue, the first voyage will be organised for 7 April next, and will leave from the port of Tarifa for the port of Tangiers.
This reopening of maritime borders comes after the Spanish president sent a letter to the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, recognising that the model of "autonomy" for the Sahara is the most "appropriate" and "realistic" way to solve the conflict.
The news of the reactivation of the maritime connections was announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. This news was accompanied by the announcement of the resumption of Operation Marhaba (OPE). Following the announcement, Spain has begun to prepare to re-establish the maritime traffic process for this year.
Operation Marhaba is a plan between Spain and Morocco to coordinate the arrival of large numbers of people travelling during the holidays from Europe to their places of origin in North Africa. It was set up in 1986 to prevent the collapse of Spanish ports, particularly Algeciras, during the holiday period.
Spain has not been able to benefit from the OPE for the years 2020 and 2021, and the plan is expected to be resumed this year. According to the Moroccan newspaper Rue, the return of the Moroccan community living in Spain by sea was only possible from the ports of Sete in France and Genoa in Italy.
The measure to close the port connections between the two countries was a great loss to the Spanish Kingdom, which needs to cover the economic losses following the drop in tourism due to the pandemic, the daily Rue reports.
The return of new relations between the two kingdoms has brought with it new opportunities for the two Mediterranean countries. Moncloa's new decision to break the neutrality on the Sahara conflict is an opportunity for the Spanish-Moroccan union to take on new projects. Such as the search for minerals on the seabed between the Canary Islands and the Sahara.
José Hernández, technical director of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife College of Economists, believes that the government's new position will help the economic development of the islands, he told Cincodías. He also pointed out in the same publication that Morocco "plays" an important role in the current geopolitical situation and that Spain's new position "is explained by the geopolitical movements that are taking place in this part of the world, and even more so with the war in Ukraine. And all of this in the context of the great dispute over Africa that the US and China are already waging. Greater US involvement could be an opportunity for the Canary Islands".