Spain and Morocco consolidate a more modern, global and cross-cutting relationship with the signing of fourteen agreements
The Spanish President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, chaired the 13th High-Level Meeting (HLM) between Spain and Morocco, a meeting aimed at building a more modern, global and cross-cutting relationship, with a shared vision of the future and current challenges – artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate change, sustainable energy transition – focusing on citizens.
Pedro Sánchez and the Head of the Moroccan Government, Aziz Akhannouch, held a bilateral meeting in which they agreed that relations between the two countries are currently at an excellent stage. The Spanish President of the Government stressed that the strong human ties that unite Spain and Morocco – the Moroccan community remains the largest foreign community in Spain and is now the largest contributor to the Social Security system, with 335,000 people – are an example of how cooperation translates into shared prosperity.
As a sign of this commitment, a Joint Declaration was adopted reaffirming the willingness of both countries to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation in key areas such as the digitisation and modernisation of public administrations, education, natural disaster prevention, sustainability and equality, among others.
On the economic front, President Sánchez highlighted the strength of trade ties, recalling that Spain has been Morocco's leading trading partner since 2012. He also referred to the Business Meeting held previously, highlighting the willingness of Spanish and Moroccan companies to further deepen their relations. In this regard, he called for taking advantage of the opportunities that the organisation of the 2030 World Cup will provide.
Agreements to deepen cooperation between the two countries
In addition to the Joint Declaration, 14 agreements were signed, including an international administrative agreement, eleven Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and two declarations of intent.
In the field of digitisation and modernisation of public administrations, several MOUs were signed: one on tax cooperation to strengthen the digitisation of tax administration; another for the sending and receiving of cooperation requests by electronic means; and the extension of the MOU on social protection and social security, which will continue to guide the exchange of technical capabilities, administrative modernisation and the updating of cooperation mechanisms. An MOU on documentary heritage was also signed, as well as a declaration of intent to cooperate in the exchange of information, technical knowledge and experiences related to the digital production of legislative and regulatory texts and their electronic dissemination.
With the aim of strengthening cooperation in the fields of sport, culture and education, Spain and Morocco signed a new Administrative Agreement that reinforces educational cooperation in Spanish-owned centres in Morocco. The text updates the framework for teacher participation, defines the conditions for selection and operation, and establishes coordination and monitoring mechanisms. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to strengthen cooperation in sport, with joint actions in training, knowledge exchange, event organisation and athlete protection. The agreement establishes an annual monitoring committee and consolidates the commitment of both countries to safer, more inclusive and future-oriented sport.
Also noteworthy is the signing of an MOU to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the prevention of and response to hate speech, through institutional cooperation, public awareness and joint work to tackle disinformation. This initiative is a response to the proliferation of xenophobic messages on social media and the shared objective of promoting coexistence.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation also signed MOUs on feminist diplomacy to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in foreign policy, as well as on the exchange of young diplomats to develop training mobility and cooperation programmes between diplomatic schools.
Finally, several MOUs were signed to improve cooperation in natural disaster management, agriculture and fisheries. The agreements signed by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – one on agriculture and the other on fisheries – focus on innovation, water management, support for rural areas and the fight against illegal fishing. Specifically, they promote sea fishing, aquaculture and the fight against illegal fishing, as well as sustainable agriculture, food security and rural development. An MOU was also signed to promote technical and scientific cooperation to study the seismicity and geodynamics of the Strait of Gibraltar, an area of common interest to both countries located at the collision zone of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. This establishes a framework for collaboration aimed at improving common knowledge about earthquakes and possible tsunamis, which includes the exchange of past and future scientific information and coordination in the deployment of observation networks.