Spain’s FM: Rabat tops agenda of Madrid’s foreign policy

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has affirmed that Morocco remains “the first priority” of his country’s foreign policy, stressing the need to maintain good relations with the North African Kingdom.

Speaking during a forum held Monday in Madrid on the occasion of the upcoming Spanish presidency of the European Union, Albares said all Spanish Heads of government and foreign ministers have placed Morocco on the top of their agenda as the two countries share common history, economic and geostrategic interests.

Today, Morocco and Spain have laid the foundations of a new relationship based on mutual respect and trust, he added, noting that this approach has already started to yield tangible positive results.

Thanks to Morocco’s cooperation, the number of migrants arriving illegally in Spain by sea has dropped significantly, said the minister, hailing the momentum in trade exchanges between the two countries.

Spain is currently Morocco’s first trading partner. The North African Kingdom is the third trading partner of Spain outside the European Union, after China and the United States and the first destination of Spanish exports in Africa and the Arab world.

In 2021, Moroccan-Spanish exchanges reached 17 billion euros. In the first nine months of 2022, they increased by more than 21%.