Rabat, September 11 (TNA) Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates has issued a detailed statement on Thursday setting out Rabat’s position on the latest developments in relations with Spain, insisting that the Kingdom has “sovereignly chosen” a path of good neighbourliness, political understanding, economic partnership and security cooperation with Madrid.
The ministry said this approach found its “fullest expression” in the Joint Declaration of April 7, 2022, following a meeting between King Mohammed VI and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which it described as ushering in a new phase based on mutual respect, mutual trust, ongoing dialogue and a mutually beneficial partnership.
According to the statement, it is because of this framework that the two countries have been able to “proactively foster what unites them” and address differences calmly and respectfully, “far from any attempt to create a fait accompli”. It highlighted tangible results, noting that Spain is Morocco’s leading economic partner while Morocco is Spain’s second-largest trading partner outside the European Union, and underlining close security cooperation that has helped save lives and dismantle terrorist and criminal networks, often at the cost of casualties and damage to Moroccan forces.
On migration, the ministry said cooperation has “always been coordinated and effective”, but acknowledged that the “unfortunate events of last July” require a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances, identify any interference, expose manipulation and ensure they are not repeated.
It then posed a series of pointed questions to Spanish authorities: why accusations continue against Morocco without evidence, facts or reports establishing any involvement by Moroccan authorities; why illegal migrants are not being returned despite Morocco’s official commitment to readmit them; and why unaccompanied minors are being kept away from their families when Rabat has urgently requested their return. “The answer to these questions is not to be found in Morocco, but with the relevant Spanish authorities,” the statement said.
It then posed a series of pointed questions to Spanish authorities: why accusations continue against Morocco without evidence, facts or reports establishing any involvement by Moroccan authorities; why illegal migrants are not being returned despite Morocco’s official commitment to readmit them; and why unaccompanied minors are being kept away from their families when Rabat has urgently requested their return. “The answer to these questions is not to be found in Morocco, but with the relevant Spanish authorities,” the statement said.
Rabat also expressed regret that some Spanish political and media circles “persist in exploiting the Kingdom for domestic political purposes”, criticising what it called “unreasonable and populist escalation” by long-standing parties and “ill-advised initiatives” by legislative and judicial institutions that, in its view, fuel a “strategy of fear”.
“Morocco refuses to be used as a pre-election political pawn, nor will it accept being the scapegoat in political score-settling,” the ministry said, adding that while geographical proximity is an “immutable reality”, it is political leaders who, through courage and vision, can turn it into an asset for the future. “Strategic blindness, on the other hand, will transform this asset into a source of chronic mistrust and recurring tensions,” it warned.