The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, took advantage of his participation in Brussels in the 6th European Union-African Union Summit to talk with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, in what was his first meeting with a representative of the Rabat Executive since the serious diplomatic crisis of April 2021.
“With the Moroccan Foreign Minister I had the opportunity to be able to share a conversation in which I think we both noted the need to move forward in the strategic relationship between Spain and Morocco, which was also pointed out by King Mohamed VI in the statement he made in August last year,” Pedro Sanchez said yesterday at the press conference following the Summit.
“For Spain, Morocco is a strategic partner and, therefore, we want to deepen these relations both from the point of view of the two regions, African Union and European Union, as well as from the bilateral point of view,” he added.
Apart from this, the head of the Executive also held a conversation with the other great protagonist of the diplomatic conflict between Spain and Morocco: the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali. This was also the first meeting with the Saharawi leader since the diplomatic crisis with Morocco, whose immediate trigger was precisely the reception in our country of Brahim Ghali for his hospitalization by COVID-19, in the midst of pressure from Morocco for Spain to recognize its sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The Polisario Front is part of the African Union as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco left the then Organization for African Unity (OAU) in 1984 in protest at SADR’s membership and did not return to the organization until 2017, when it was already the current African Union.
Brahim Ghali, whose presence in Brussels caused great indignation in Morocco, participated on Thursday in the table on Peace, Security and Governance, which was co-chaired by Pedro Sánchez with the leaders of Mauritania and Ghana and attended by the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell; the president of the EU Peace and Security Council, the Egyptian Mohamed Omar Gad; and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. During his intervention, the Polisario Front leader warned that “the European Union must be part of the solution and not part of the problem in the Western Sahara conflict”.
In addition, Nasser Bourita co-chaired yesterday the round table on Education, Culture and Vocational Training, Migration and Mobility, in which also participated Pedro Sánchez, who proposed during his speech the implementation of a strengthened and reciprocal Euro-African partnership on migration and mobility, in order to “move towards a comprehensive migration policy, which includes all its dimensions and promotes a safe, orderly and regular migration”.
