عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Bourita: Moroccan-Spanish Ties at their Best

Morocco’s PM Aziz Akhannouch receives Spain's Foreign Minister. (EPA)
Morocco’s PM Aziz Akhannouch receives Spain's Foreign Minister. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Bourita: Moroccan-Spanish Ties at their Best

Morocco’s PM Aziz Akhannouch receives Spain's Foreign Minister. (EPA)
Morocco’s PM Aziz Akhannouch receives Spain's Foreign Minister. (EPA)

Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said that relations between Morocco and Spain are “at their best in decades” and have never reached this level since the meeting of King Mohammed VI with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in April 2022.

During a joint press conference with Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who is on a visit to Morocco, Bourita stated that the roadmap announced back then pushed forward the bilateral ties.

Bourita added that these relations are based on mutual trust, which is tangibly reflected in the handling of issues such as terrorism and illegal migration, and on partnership through economic and strategic cooperation, in accordance with the win-win principle.

“Relations between the two countries have strong prospects within the framework of organizing the 2030 World Cup, and push us to develop them fully,” stated the FM.

Bourita noted that Morocco aims to finish what remains from the roadmap as soon as possible and then it would be open to new sectors.

Regarding the pending customs issue, he revealed that the two countries have achieved great progress in opening customs through the occupied Ceuta and Melilla crossings, and everything mentioned in the bilateral summit declaration will be implemented to the letter.

Regarding customs, the Spanish diplomat stated that “everything that was agreed upon would be implemented.”

Trade exchanges have reached 20 billion euros in 2022, said Albares, adding that Morocco is Spain’s third economic partner from outside the European Union.

“The Kingdom represents great interests for us, especially with regard to our investment, the benefits of which are not limited to Morocco, but also include Africa.”

Morocco and Spain endorsed the roadmap following a severe crisis that was sparked in 2021 when Spain hosted the head of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, under a false Algerian identity and without informing Rabat.

In April 2022, Morocco's King announced upon receiving Sanchez that the visit falls under the framework of a new stage of partnership.

During the meeting, the Moroccan King and the Spanish PM reiterated the will to open a new stage in the relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, permanent consultation, and frank and loyal cooperation.

Sanchez reaffirmed the position of Spain on the Sahara issue, considering the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic, and credible basis for resolving the dispute.

Moreover, Albares had met with Morocco’s Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch.

They emphasized the friendly bilateral ties between their two countries, as well as the strategic partnership endorsed by King Mohammed VI and King Felipe VI.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
TT
20
TT

Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded enclave, Israeli force pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war, reported Reuters.

Gaza's health ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City.

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property," said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

After a strike killed several people in Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent.

"Is anything left for us? There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep," he said.

The assault to capture Rafah is a major escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.

GAZANS FEAR PERMANENT DEPOPULATION

Israel has not spelled out its longterm aims for the security zone its troops are now seizing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu said troops were taking an area he called the "Morag Axis", a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement once located between Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the adjacent main southern city Khan Younis.

Gazans who had returned to homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have now been ordered to flee communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.

They fear that Israel's intention is to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on earth. The security zone includes some of Gaza's last agricultural land and critical water infrastructure.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire expired at the start of March with no agreement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods reaching Gaza's 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations describe as a humanitarian catastrophe after weeks of relative calm.

Israel's stated goal since the start of the war has been the destruction of the Hamas group which ran Gaza for nearly two decades and led the attack on Israeli communities in October 2023 that precipitated the war.

But with no effort made to establish an alternative administration, Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire. Fighters still hold 59 dead and living hostages which Israel says must be handed over to extend the truce; Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that ends the war.

Israeli leaders say they have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of people demonstrating in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya on Wednesday opposing the war and demanding Hamas quit power. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is behind them.

The war began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.

Rafah residents said most of the local population had followed Israel's order to leave, as Israeli strikes toppled buildings there. But a strike on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah stopped most movement between the two cities.

Movement of people and traffic along the western coastal road near Morag was also limited by bombardment, said residents.

"Others stayed because they don't know where to go, or got fed up of being displaced several times. We are afraid they might be killed or at best detained," said Basem, a resident of Rafah who declined to give a second name.

Markets have emptied and prices for basic necessities have soared under Israel's total blockade of food, medicine and fuel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has nominal authority over hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza's entire healthcare system was at risk of collapse.