The Diplomat
The Ambassador of Morocco, Karima Benyaich, participated yesterday at the headquarters of Casa de Africa in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, with the African ambassadors accredited in Spain.
The headquarters of the Spanish public diplomacy institution yesterday hosted the twelfth meeting of Casa África’s Diplomatic Council, which for the first time was held outside Madrid and coincided with Africa Day, which is commemorated every year on May 25. The Diplomatic Council is made up of African ambassadors accredited in Spain, acts through a permanent commission and is chaired by the dean of the African ambassadors.
After the meeting, the minister presided over a lunch offered to the African ambassadors accredited in Spain, with whom he reviewed the challenges that the Government’s foreign policy has set within the framework of the XII Casa África Diplomatic Council. “On Africa Day, I have met with African ambassadors at Casa África, in Las Palmas, to analyze our foreign policy towards the continent,” Albares stated through his Twitter account. “Political, cultural and economic relations with African countries are a priority for Spain,” he added. The State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, also attended the luncheon.
Among the attendees was Karima Benyaich, who returned last March to Madrid after the change of position of the government of Pedro Sanchez on Western Sahara, which has paved the way for the recovery of bilateral relations. The ambassador had been recalled for consultations by Rabat in mid-May 2021 in protest against the reception in a Spanish hospital of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali. Benyaich’s return came only a day after Algeria announced the recall for consultations of its ambassador to Spain, Said Moussi (who, obviously, was not in Las Palmas), precisely to express its displeasure at the government’s turnaround on Western Sahara.
In declarations to the press, the ambassador affirmed yesterday that Morocco is “a friend of Spain and a strategic partner, with which it wants to further strengthen the excellent ties” and assured that it is “an honor” to resume bilateral relations. Likewise, she assured that Rabat will take into account the interests of the Canary Islands in the negotiation of territorial waters.
