Mohammed VI thanks Felipe VI and Pedro Sánchez for Spain's help after the terrible earthquake in Morocco

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, sent a message of thanks to his Spanish counterpart Felipe VI and the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, for the aid provided after the devastating earthquake suffered on 8 September in the North African country, which left around 3,000 people dead and more than 5,600 injured, as well as serious material damage.  

Mohammed VI expressed his gratitude to Felipe VI and Pedro Sánchez after the participation of a detachment of the Military Emergency Unit in the search, rescue and emergency work carried out after the severe earthquake that struck several Moroccan enclaves such as Al-Haouz, Marrakech, Taroudant, Chichaoua and the High Atlas region itself. The Alaouite sovereign also thanked the King and Queen of Spain and the Spanish people in general for their expressions of support, affection and solidarity. 

The King of Morocco expressed to the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Doña Letizia, his "most sincere thanks and gratitude for their feelings of compassion and solidarity towards the Moroccan people, following the painful earthquake", as reported by the official Moroccan news agency MAP.  

On behalf of himself and the Moroccan people, the King of Morocco expressed his "sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain for his country's support, praising the active participation of the Spanish Military Rescue Unit contingent in the search and rescue operations in the affected areas, in perfect synergy with the Moroccan teams". 

"This fraternal initiative on the part of your country will remain forever anchored in the history of friendship and of the excellent relations of cooperation and good neighbourliness that unite the kingdoms of Morocco and Spain," Mohammed VI said. 

In the message of thanks and gratitude sent to the interim Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, following the participation of a contingent of the Spanish Military Emergency Unit in the search and rescue efforts deployed in Morocco, Mohammed VI wished, on his own behalf and on behalf of the Moroccan people, to show his deep gratitude and sincere thanks to Pedro Sánchez and, through him, to the members of his country's Executive, for their "great support for the Kingdom of Morocco, following the violent earthquake that shook the region of Al Haouz on 8 September", as was also reported by the MAP agency.

Mohammed VI highlighted the sincere solidarity shown by Spain, a neighbouring and allied nation, through the action of King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish people, with the example of the intervention of the contingent of the Spanish Military Emergency Unit in the rescue and rescue work as a prime example. 

Morocco requested aid from four countries for assistance, search and rescue tasks: Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United Kingdom. King Mohammed VI justified the decision to request assistance from these four nations and not from anyone else because of their great capacity in emergency and rescue tasks and because the best help is useful and necessary, ruling out an oversaturation of assistance that could have harmed the good coordination between the teams that have been working on the ground in the North African country. In fact, other countries such as France and the United States offered their help, but Morocco, exercising its sovereign right to decide, did not ask for their collaboration, something that generated some controversy in France due to its tense political relations with the North African nation.  

Mohammed VI also indicated to the acting president of the Spanish government how proud he is of the distinguished relations of friendship that unite the two kingdoms. 

Solid relations

Diplomatic relations between Morocco and Spain are very strong as good allies and neighbours on both shores of the Mediterranean. The bond is close between the two nations, especially after the Spanish government of Pedro Sánchez recognised the North African country's initiative for Western Sahara as the "most credible, serious and realistic" way to resolve the Sahrawi dispute, demonstrating Spain's support for Moroccan sovereignty and territorial integrity.  

A bilateral relationship that was strengthened with the last High-Level Meeting held in Rabat in February 2023, which served to sign several agreements that were very beneficial for both countries in various sectors. All of this after King Mohammed VI and Pedro Sánchez met in Rabat previously, following the invitation extended by the Alaouite monarch, to mark the roadmap for the bilateral relationship that is developing between the two nations.

Gratitude to the Emirates, Qatar and the United Kingdom 

Mohammed VI also wanted to show his deepest gratitude to the other three countries that have been collaborating in the rescue and emergency work in the aftermath of the earthquake.  

The King of Morocco sent a message of gratitude to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, in which he expressed the deep gratitude of the Moroccan people for the crucial support provided by the Arab country during these difficult times, as reported by the MAP agency. The Alawi sovereign expressed his gratitude, on his behalf and on behalf of the Moroccan people, for the "noble support" and "generous assistance" that the State of Qatar and the emir served Morocco. 

"What consoles and comforts us in this painful circumstance is this wave of sincere solidarity with Morocco by brotherly and friendly countries, including the State of Qatar, as always," Mohammed VI stressed. 

King Mohammed VI also stressed the deepest gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for the work of the Emirati rescue team, which contributed significantly to Morocco's relief efforts in the aftermath of the quake.  

The Moroccan monarch sent a message to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, President of the UAE, expressing Morocco's gratitude and appreciation for the Emirati collaboration.  

In the message, King Mohammed VI remarked Morocco's sincere appreciation for the Emirati president's "genuine compassion and active solidarity in support of the victims of the painful earthquake that struck" the Al-Haouz area.  

There were also words of appreciation from the King of Morocco to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, following the also significant involvement of the British search and rescue team. "It gives me great pleasure to express to you, on my personal behalf and on behalf of the Moroccan people, my deep gratitude for the noble solidarity and humanitarian attitude of your government towards the Kingdom of Morocco in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake," the Alawite monarch said.