Spanish PP leader highlights importance of loyal relations with Morocco

Leader of the Spanish Popular Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo has underlined the importance that this main Spanish opposition party attaches to relations with its North African neighbor and partner.

This came at a meeting Tuesday in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the head of the Moroccan government and president of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), Aziz Akhannouch, on the sidelines of the congress of the European People’s Party (EPP) where the RNI has the status of associate member.

During this meeting Núñez Feijóo underlined that his political party considers the North African kingdom as a reliable partner and ally, bearing an important relevance and conveyed to the RNI leader his “commitment to maintaining a relationship of neighborliness and loyalty with Morocco.”

Aziz Akhannouch extended an invitation to the PP leader to visit Morocco and Núñez Feijóo accepted to make the trip to the North African country during the current year, reports EFE news agency.

According to local media, this meeting, which comes shortly after the Galician politician took over the leadership of the PP, translates clearly that Morocco is a foreign policy priority for Spain’s main opposition party, which commits to loyalty in relations between Madrid and Rabat.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo told EFE news agency before his talks with Akhannouch that this meeting will “strengthen Spain’s commitments and ties of neighborliness, reciprocity, honesty, and loyalty between Morocco and Spain.”

“The first thing I want to tell Akhannouch is that we are going to adopt a reliable foreign policy with Morocco, we are not going to deceive you,” Feijóo said in his statement to EFE, adding that his party is going to try to rebuild a foreign policy based on trust and parliamentary consensus within Spain.

One of the major issues that Alberto Núñez Feijóo wanted to highlight during this meeting was the issue of the Sahara. On this point, the PP leader already made it clear that he wants Rabat to know first-hand the position of his political party regarding the Sahara.

“I am convinced that the Moroccan Prime Minister will understand me, because the important thing between two countries is that there should be no deceit, no disloyalty and no clandestine letters. We are going to do this clearly and in the light of day. And in the Congress of Deputies”, the leader of the opposition party assured.

It should be recalled that the Moroccan proposal for broad autonomy for the Sahara under the sovereignty of Morocco which enjoys considerable international consensus has recently gained momentum and received significant support from many powers such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and, more recently, Spain.

Actually, in March, PM Pedro Sánchez sent a letter to King Mohammed VI in which he expressed clear support of the Spanish Government to the Moroccan proposal for broad autonomy of the Sahara under the sovereignty of Morocco, which has defended this initiative since 2007, while respecting the postulates of the United Nations.