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President Pedro Sánchez’s trip to meet King Mohammed IV is a new chapter in rebuilding diplomacy between the two nations, a transcendental bond in North Africa. It will be the first official meeting between countries since the disagreement that occurred last year when the Iberians received the leader of the Polisario Front sick with Covid-19. The resentments affected the migratory flow towards Ceuta and Melilla. “A new stage is opening,” said the Spanish Foreign Minister.
This Thursday, April 7, the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, will carry out an official visit to Morocco, where he will be received by King Mohammed VI in the framework of the first bilateral meeting in three and a half years, with the aggravation of the crisis occurred in 2021 that broke diplomatic ties.
The Iberian leader’s trip will last two days and will be the end of the disagreements in the vital relationship for Western Sahara and the kick for its reactivation. The Moroccan royal palace confirmed that Mohammed VI “will offer an iftar”, at which time he will break the Ramadan fast.
From the Spanish side, the one who showed his enthusiasm and optimism was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who spoke of “a very strong show of friendship” between the nations.
“Today I believe that not only does a crisis end, but a new stage of relations between Spain and Morocco is opening,” he said. In addition, he qualified that “it will be in the best possible way” due to the involvement of the Moroccan king. “You are personally going to certify the end of this crisis,” he added.
It will be the formalization of the rapprochements that began on March 17, when Madrid modified its position on the status of Western Sahara – a former Spanish colony – considering the Rabat proposal as the best for the region.
This national cause of Morocco has been in conflict since 1975, opposing the Saharawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who are supported by the Algerian authorities, another transcendental ally for Spain.
Sánchez left Spain’s historical neutrality on the issue and publicly announced his support for the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty that was proposed in 2007, which he described as “more serious, realistic and stable.” 80% of Western Sahara is in the hands of Rabat and is considered a non-autonomous territory by the UN.
Madrid and Rabat will leave behind the “deepest and longest” crisis
Albares underlined the seriousness and the long time in which both territories were at loggerheads, a situation that they will overcome after the outbreak in April 2021. Their alliance frayed after the presence of Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front, became known.
The Saharawi leader arrived in continental Spain on a medical plane from the Algerian State and with a diplomatic passport running “danger of death” due to a severe case of coronavirus. Considered the main enemy of Morocco, the Iberians alleged humanitarian reasons to give him shelter and medical attention.
However, the justifications were not enough for Rabat, who denounced that Ghali carried false documentation and a usurped identity, demanding “a transparent investigation” into the conditions in which he arrived in Europe.
The subsequent departure of Ghali in June, denounced for torture and genocide, did not correct the damage that had been settled, because it was still considered a change in Madrid’s position regarding the sacred cause regarding Western Sahara.
In retaliation, Morocco lowered its border guard in May, allowing 10,000 illegal immigrants to cross the border into the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which was considered “blackmail” by the Spanish authorities.
Despite the criticism expressed by opponents of the Pedro Sánchez Administration, especially from the radical left party Podemos, the head of state chose to encourage the Moroccan autonomy plan, as did other powers such as France, the United States and Germany.
However, this “overturn” to make friends with Rabat generated new resentments with Algiers, an important partner for being the main supplier of gas, which withdrew its ambassador from Spain, initiating tension with another North African member.
With EFE and AP
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