Morocco, Spain “Completely Satisfied” with Implementation of Bilateral Roadmap

“Today, we discussed the implementation of the bilateral roadmap … and we expressed our complete satisfaction with the implementation of all its provisions and all commitments,” said Morocco ‘s FM Nasser Bourita, at a press briefing, following a working meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares.

The third meeting in less than a week, according to Bourita, exemplifies “the extremely tight coordination and strong partnership that our two countries share.”3

This conference, which was conducted in conjunction with the Union for the Mediterranean’s (7th Regional Forum), provided a chance to evaluate the roadmap’s progress and consider measures to speed up implementation, he said.

“We are in a new phase of our relationship and we are very pleased to continue to work in all sectors: economic cooperation, political dialogue, fight against illegal immigration, terrorism, regional security, as well as ways to develop the cultural dimension and security cooperation,” said the Minister.

He stated that the next High Level Meeting “will offer an opportunity to see that we have executed all of the aspects of the plan, but also to agree on new and more ambitious elements of our bilateral relationship” in this regard.

Bourita emphasized that, when it comes to bilateral collaboration on migration, the two nations have “set an example of productive cooperation” in the struggle against illegal migration.

“Our cooperation is the only success story of cooperation in the fight against illegal migration in the Mediterranean region,” said the minister, assuring that Rabat and Madrid conduct this cooperation “as two responsible countries, taking into account a firm approach to migration, by developing legal migration, protecting migrants and fighting against networks of smugglers.”

The Minister stated that “this model must be developed and promoted” and added that “this partnership has contributed much to the security of Morocco and Spain, but also to the whole region.”

According to Bourita, there is widespread agreement that the cooperative and positive actions taken by Spain and Morocco should be emulated.