Spain, Morocco sign19 agreements to strengthen economic and bilateral cooperation.
The signed agreements aim to increase collaboration between the two nations in a variety of areas, including the management of migration, water resources, scientific research, and the economy.
Numerous agreements to advance economic and bilateral cooperation were signed by Morocco and Spain as a way to conclude the high-level meeting.
The two nations have signed a number of memorandum of understanding (MoU) that aim to strengthen their cooperation in areas like migration control, renewable energy production, and water management.
In the fight against human trafficking networks in Europe and against irregular migration, Morocco is one of the key players.
In a statement last month, Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, highlighted Morocco’s contribution to the effort, saying that “of all the migration routes to Europe, the only one that has decreased is that from Morocco and Spain.”
Sanchez co-chaired the high-level meeting in Morocco with Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.
The creation of “bilingual Spanish sections” in the scientific field was also covered by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan and Spanish Ministries of Education.
One of the cooperation agreements between the two nations was also signed to develop agricultural cooperation between the two nations and to combat climate change to advance sustainable development.
Les accords signés ont aussi porté sur le domaine de la Recherche et développement ; la Coopération universitaire ainsi que les Bibliothèques et les Archives.@miqueliceta pic.twitter.com/8e0YjTAwZ2
— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) February 2, 2023
The 12th high-level meeting, which took place in Madrid in 2015 after the previous one was held there eight years earlier, came to an end with the signing of the agreements.
The meeting gave the two nations a chance to reaffirm their commitment to advancing diplomatic ties on all fronts.
During the meeting, the Spanish and Moroccan governments expressed commitment to avoid anything that could “offend the spheres of sovereignty” of the two countries.
“We have assumed a commitment to mutual respect, whereby in our speech and in our political practice we are going to avoid everything that we know offends the other party, especially as it affects our respective spheres of sovereignty,” Sanchez said.
Akhannouch also expressed Morocco’s appreciation for Spain’s revised stance on the Western Sahara during the meeting.
Akhannouch cited Spain’s support of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and reliable foundation for resolving the Western Sahara conflict in his speech.
In order to discuss ways to advance their cooperation, Moroccan and Spanish officials exchanged opinions on various meetings outside of the high-level meeting.
Abdelouafi Laftit, the interior minister of Morocco, spoke with Fernando Grande-Marlaska, a member of a sizable delegation in Rabat for the high-level meeting, about security cooperation.
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In order to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas of shared interest, Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui met with Spanish Minister of Science Diana Morant Ripoll.