The heads of government, Pedro Sánchez and Aziz Akhannouch, mark the new stage of their relations after the High Level Meeting (HLM)

España y Marruecos encarrilan la nueva etapa bilateral con la firma de 18 Memorandos de Entendimiento

photo_camera PHOTO/AP - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch pose for a photo before the signing of bilateral agreements during the 12th session of the Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting in Rabat, Morocco

The heads of government of Spain and Morocco appeared before the media on Thursday at the end of the twelfth High-Level Meeting (RAN), the first bilateral mechanism of this magnitude to be held between the two countries since 2015. Following the expected script, the summit has resulted in the signing of "an unprecedented number of agreements", Sánchez stressed, which have been included in 18 Memorandums of Understanding, two declarations and a new financial protocol that specify and expand the joint declaration signed during the last visit to Rabat by the President of the Government.

"The road map signed in April has guided us to this meeting," confirmed Sánchez, who last visited Morocco on 7 April. At that time, the head of government held an audience with King Mohammed VI to ratify Spain's change of position on the Western Sahara issue. On this occasion, however, the Alaouite monarch received Sánchez as he was out of the country. Instead, the two held a 30-minute telephone conversation. 

"Before starting my trip, I spoke with King Mohammed VI", confirmed Sánchez, who took the opportunity to thank the king for his invitation to visit Morocco again "in the near future". "Obviously, I have accepted with pleasure," he confirmed, before reviewing the outcome of the High Level Meeting. "With today's meeting, we are consolidating this new stage in our relationship. We nurture something very important, which is a climate of mutual trust and genuine cooperation such as has never existed before," he insisted. 

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According to Akhannouch, the king followed the entire meeting "and supports all the agreements signed". 

The President of the Government described the HLM as "a milestone for Spain and Morocco" because it is the first to be held in eight years, because of the number of bilateral agreements and because the parties have adopted "a broad communiqué that addresses all the dimensions of our bilateral relationship in this new stage". "And also because 11 ministers from Spain - in addition to the Spanish ambassador in Rabat, Ricardo Díaz Hotchleiner - and 13 from Morocco took part," he added. 

"We are laying the foundations for something important. We are laying the foundations of the kind of relationship we want for Spain and Morocco in the present and in the future. A relationship based on trust, on the fulfilment of what has been agreed, on respect and on permanent dialogue," he stressed under the watchful eye of his counterpart, Aziz Akhannouch. "I believe that the results achieved today give an idea of the density and importance that the two countries attach to our relationship, and clearly reflect its strategic nature". 

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The Moroccan Prime Minister agreed with his counterpart that "bilateral relations have never reached this level of cooperation and coordination". 

The President of the Government went on to list "the achievements" in the areas of political, migratory, border and trade cooperation. And he congratulated himself on "the high degree of compliance" with the 16 points contained in the joint declaration of last April. But within the framework of the HLM, Sánchez pointed out, the parties have adopted "new follow-up mechanisms that will allow us to keep communication between us open at all times without resorting to unilateral actions and without ever leaving out any issue, however complex it may be". 

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The parties have also made progress on migration issues, Sánchez said, one of the priority issues discussed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Abdelouafi Laftit hours before the summit. The Spanish and Moroccan Ministers of the Interior held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the HLM, as did other members of both cabinets. In this area, the priority objective is to "open channels for regular migration". 

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The governments discussed the normalisation of the border movement of people and goods, one of the main points on the agenda. "Specifically, we have agreed that the commercial customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla will continue to be opened in an orderly and progressive manner," stressed Sánchez, who announced the reopening of the border crossings in April of this year after his last visit to Rabat. However, neither of the parties dared to give a specific date. 

Sánchez made it clear that Spain "wants to be an investor of reference for Morocco", which is why they had agreed on a new advanced economic partnership. The President of the Government summed up the new financial protocol by which Spain doubles, from 400 to 800 million euros, a line of credit to Spanish companies wishing to invest in the Maghreb country, announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto. 

List of agreements


The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares and Nasser Bourita, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding on Triangular Cooperation between AMCI and AECID.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between MAECAMRE and the Ministry of Inclusion, Migration and Social Security of Spain in the field of migration management. 


The Ministers of Economy, Nadia Calviño and Nizar Baraka, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Water and the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Programmes in the field of Infrastructures.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Water and the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge in the field of management, development and protection of water resources.
  • Cooperation between the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura and the Loukkos River Basin Agency for the decentralised management of water resources. 
  • Cooperation between the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority and the Tensift River Basin Agency for the decentralised management of water resources.


The Ministers for Energy Transition, Teresa Ribera and Leila Binali, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development and the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge in the field of the environment, the fight against climate change and sustainable development.


The Ministers of Agriculture, Luis Planas and Mohamed Sadiki, signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between Morocco and Spain in the Sanitary, Phytosanitary and Development of Agricultural Sectors. 


The Ministers of Education, Pilar Alegria and Chakib Benmusa, signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training for the creation of bilingual sections in Spanish in the scientific field.


The Spanish Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, and the Moroccan Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the Moroccan Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Skills in the field of vocational training.
  • Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Moroccan Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Skills and the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration on Migratory Movements. 


The Ministers of Health, Carolina Darias and Khalid Aït Taleb, signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration on Technical Cooperation in the field of Social Security.
  • Declaration of Intent between Morocco and Spain in the field of health security.


The Spanish Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto, and the Moroccan Minister of Education, Fatima-Zahra Ammor, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy and the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in the field of Tourism. 


The Ministers of Transport, Raquel Sanchez and Mohammed Abdeljalil, signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Transport and Logistics and the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Programmes in the field of Transport. 


The Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, and the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation in the field of Research and Development. 
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Spanish Ministry of Universities in the field of universities. 


The Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and the Spanish Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, have signed: 

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the National Library of Morocco and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation in the field of libraries. 
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Directorate of Archives of Morocco and the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport in the field of Archives.

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