The work of the 12th session of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting (HLM) opened on Thursday in Rabat, under the joint chairmanship of the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, and the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez.
Speaking on this occasion, Akhannouch considered that this meeting offers the opportunity to anchor the new vision of the partnership between the two countries for the coming years, through the milestones of the roadmap adopted by the two governments and in application of its provisions.
Addressing the Spanish delegation, the Head of Government stressed that “Thanks to the development of bilateral relations at all levels, Spain has become Morocco’s leading economic and commercial partner. The two countries have been able to put in place a rich and diversified legal framework accompanying the progress made in many areas”.
After recalling that in a complex international context, which is experiencing the exacerbation of tensions due to the various international crises and their impact on production chains and food security due to energy instability, “Morocco and Spain have been able to intensify their cooperation in these two areas, through model projects”Akhannouch specified that these projects relate in particular to energy, through the reinforcement of the electrical interconnection and the implementation of the Maghreb gas pipeline in the opposite direction, from Spain to Morocco, as well as the adoption of sources new energies such as green hydrogen.
In this sense, he indicated that the current session of the RNH “will see the signing of a new generation of conventions and memorandums of understanding aimed at responding to the aspirations of the two kingdoms and developing a model of cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean, in its Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-African dimensions “.
In this regard, the Head of Government expressed his conviction that “the geographical proximity of the two countries has favored a considerable presence of Spanish companies in Morocco and the presence of a large Moroccan community established in Spain and Spanish residing in Morocco”and this exceptional dynamic, he said, “resulted from this deal, which underlines that the economic relations between the two kingdoms go beyond the context of the economic situation for the structural dimension”, just as it “opens up the prospects for projects which are as many levers for the construction of the future, including the fixed link project between the two countries, which is likely to bring about a real revolution on several levels”.
While welcoming the work accomplished since the last session of the RNH, held in Madrid in 2015 and the positive results marked by the implementation of the contents of the joint declaration which sanctioned its work, Akhannouch noted that the current meeting strengthens you the adhesion of the two Kingdoms “to a renewed process of bilateral cooperation, which responds to the strong aspiration of King Mohammed VI and King Felipe VI to anchor the bilateral strategic partnership and translate its main orientations into a clear roadmap, serving the interests of the two friendly peoples” .
Along the same lines, he pleaded for “the involvement of economic operators in this dynamic, with a view to concluding strong and tangible partnerships, going beyond commercial exchanges to encompass joint projects with a strategic scope, by taking advantage of the new investment charter in Morocco, the provisions of which offer many opportunities for both sides in various fields and for promising markets, particularly in Africa”.
On another aspect, the Head of Government recalled that the 12th RNH Morocco-Spain “Intervenes in a context of profound regional and international changes, with in mind the security challenges that are now imposed on the countries of the region”and this “calls, more than ever, for the intensification of efforts to deal with the dangers that threaten the security of the region and which are linked to illegal immigration, human trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism, separatists and armed factions, on the basis of a comprehensive approach bringing together the security and social dimensions”.
In his speech, Akhannouch did not fail to salute Spain’s position on the first national cause, which “supports the Moroccan proposal for autonomy in the Moroccan Sahara, presented by Morocco in 2007 and considers it to be THE most serious, realistic and credible basis for the settlement of this artificial conflict”.
Akhannouch, in the end, reiterated the unchanging commitment of the Moroccan party “to move forward in our bilateral relations and to renew them”.
As a reminder, this 12th session of the HLM, which is being held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, will be marked by the signing of some twenty agreements between the two countries.
On the sidelines of this HLM, a Morocco-Spain Economic Forum was organized on Wednesday in Rabat, during which Pedro Sanchez announced a new financing protocol of 800 million euros relating to joint projects in Morocco.