Spain’s FM Lauds Rabat-Madrid Partnership

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares
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Spain’s FM Lauds Rabat-Madrid Partnership

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares hailed the valuable partnership between Spain and Morocco, affirming that it is “an example to be followed by other countries in the region.”

“We want to have with all our neighbors the same relationship we have with Morocco,” the Spanish official said on the sidelines of a forum he was attending in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

He noted that the bilateral ties are based on mutual respect and benefits, the absence of unilateral actions, and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

“All the points” contained in the Spanish-Moroccan Declaration of April 7 are being implemented, he said, recalling that air and sea connectivity has been fully restored and collaboration on migration and the fight against human trafficking mafias has increased.

He noted that “all migratory routes to Europe are growing, except those to Spain.”

On the economic level, bilateral trade has been revived, reaching €7 billion since the beginning of the year, which is 2 billion more than last year, Albares added.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.