The president of the Canary Islands thanks the Moroccan foreign minister for his support in the fight against illegal immigration

The migratory situation in Spain and the European Union would be ‘unacceptable without the enormous effort’ made by Morocco to curb illegal emigration. The words of the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, sum up the good harmony that has presided over the meeting held in Rabat with the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Naser Bourita. 

1. Immigration
2. A shared problem
3. Immigration as a political weapon
4. Sovereignty of Western Sahara
5. Canary Islands-Morocco relations

Immigration

This is the second trip that the President of the Canary Islands has made to Morocco, and the first in the current legislature. Morocco was the first stop on Fernando Clavijo's diplomatic tour, which will continue in other African countries, and whose main objective is to seek solutions to the migratory crisis that is particularly affecting the coasts of the Canary Islands. 

During his meeting in Rabat with the head of Moroccan diplomacy, Clavijo highlighted the important work being carried out by Morocco to contain the incessant flow of migrants heading for the Canary Islands, mostly from the Sahel countries, who are fleeing ‘hunger, war, climate change and drought’, as the regional president pointed out.

In the words of Fernando Clavijo, ‘surely we can all improve things, but we must value the important role that Morocco is playing in terms of political stability and control. If it did not have 8,000 troops for this task, the situation would be unbearable for Spain and the EU’. 

The President of the Canary Islands valued Morocco's cooperation, which ‘contributes to tranquillity, stability and to preventing the mafias from wandering around and generating business by trafficking people’. 

A shared problem

For his part, the Moroccan Foreign Minister defended the policy carried out by his country in relation to the migration problem and human trafficking networks: ‘we don't need to be lectured. Since 2013, Morocco has had a migration policy that has allowed 60,000 African migrants to be in a regular situation in our country’. 

Bourita stressed that his country mobilises its security forces on a permanent basis ‘so that it is not a place of easy transit’, and recalled that his country considers that responsibility for the migration problem should be shared between the countries of origin, transit and destination. 

According to the minister, it is not appropriate to attribute responsibility only to transit countries, such as Morocco, and the problem should be tackled comprehensively, taking into account the different factors that motivate migratory movements. 

Immigration as a political weapon

Naser Bourita also denounced the fact that the migration issue is being used as a political weapon by various European countries, and that ‘there is a gulf between the discourse of fear, of terror, in comparison with migration itself’. 

To contextualise the problem, the head of Moroccan diplomacy provided some figures: African migration barely represents 1% of global migration. Illegal African migration is only 0.23%, and 80% of it takes place on the African continent alone.

He therefore called for avoiding alarmist discourse and analysing the phenomenon and its possible solutions without using such alarmist terms as ‘tidal wave’. 

As for human trafficking networks, the Moroccan Foreign Minister was categorical: ‘these networks must be considered as a cross-border criminality that must be dealt with swiftly; the migrant is not a criminal, but the networks are’. 

Sovereignty of Western Sahara

Another of the issues addressed at the meeting was the question of Western Sahara, which is particularly relevant for the Canary Islands, given their geographical proximity to this region. 

In relation to this, Clavijo stressed his institutional loyalty to the Spanish government and pointed out that he ‘assumes’ that Spain will support a future for the Sahara as a Moroccan autonomy. 

According to the Canary Islands President, ‘we have talked about the situation in the Sahara, and it has been made perfectly clear that the Canary Islands Government fully assumes the policy of the Spanish Government, as it could not be otherwise. I believe that this has created a space and a climate of trust and collaboration in which we, as the Canary Islands, want to deepen’, Clavijo said in the Moroccan capital. 

Canary Islands-Morocco relations

In addition to the migration issue, the meeting between the President of the Canary Islands and the Moroccan Foreign Minister also served to put other issues of bilateral interest on the table, such as the negotiation on territorial waters. On this issue, the Moroccan minister stated that ‘all that remains to be done is to find solutions’. 

Clavijo and Bourita also discussed the development of the road map that will guide bilateral relations between the Canary Islands and Morocco, with specific actions. On the horizon are events such as the 2030 Football World Cup, organised between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, which will require greater collaboration. 

The strengthening of links between the regions of southern Morocco and the Canary Islands was also raised, establishing a platform for the exchange of experiences and knowledge.