President of Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez starts working & friendship visit to Morocco

President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, arrived in Morocco on Wednesday, as part of a working and friendship visit to the Kingdom.

Sanchez is accompanied by Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, during this visit, his first to the North African Kingdom since his government took office in January.

The President of the Spanish Government wrote on his X account upon arrival in Rabat that “relations with our neighbor, friend, and strategic partner are at their best moment in decades.” “This official visit gives a new impetus to our cooperation in all areas and consolidates a model of constructive neighborhood based on trust and mutual respect,” he added.

During his official trip to Morocco, Pedro Sánchez will hold talks with senior Moroccan officials, including his counterpart, Aziz Akhannouch.

Pedro Sánchez’s previous official visit to Morocco dates back to February 2, 2023, when he co-chaired with Akhannouch the 12th high-level meeting between the two countries.

Sources from the Spanish government highlighted, according to the Spanish official news agency EFE, the importance of this trip, which comes at the beginning of the legislature presided over by Sanchez. The aim is to further strengthen the “excellent” nature of bilateral relations between the two countries.

This position was expressed last December in Rabat by the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, who, during the visit of his Spanish counterpart to Rabat, stated that relations with Spain “have never reached such a level of strength, solidity, and trust.”

This stage of the bilateral relationship was sealed during last year’s High-Level Meeting, which was preceded by Sánchez’s meeting with King Mohammed VI in April 2022 in Rabat, following the letter sent by the Prime Minister to the Sovereign, in which the Spanish government expressed its support for the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty for the Saharan provinces. This plan was endorsed by Spain as “the most serious, credible, and realistic” approach to resolving the Sahara conflict.