The Diplomat
Spain and Morocco yesterday carried out new goods crossings through the customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla in compliance with the schedule set by the two countries during the recent High Level Meeting (RAN, by its Spanish acronym), held on February 1 and 2 in Rabat.
“With these new operations, progress is made on the roadmap envisaged towards full normalization, progressive and gradual, to which the two countries had committed themselves in order to favor commercial exchanges and tackle the atypical trade that was recorded at these border posts,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release.
The new trade expeditions “already incorporate solutions to many of the technical difficulties that were detected in the pilot test that was successfully carried out last January 27,” it continued. That test was the first step for Spain and Morocco to have, for the first time, a customs office in Ceuta and for the one in Melilla, closed since 2018, to be reopened.
“Since then, work has been done to adapt the technical and bureaucratic infrastructure to the needs required by a customs crossing of these characteristics to move towards full normalization in which the two countries work together according to the schedule that was set during the RAN at the beginning of the month,” the ministry concluded.
During the Rabat Summit, Spain and Morocco undertook to continue working “so that the commercial customs in Ceuta and Melilla continue to open in an orderly and progressive manner until the full normalization of the passage of people and goods is achieved, as established in the Joint Declaration of April 7”, signed by King Mohamed VI and the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, in the framework of the relaunching of bilateral relations after Spain’s unexpected decision to recognize the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
Last February 13, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, discussed in Madrid with the presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Jesús Vivas and Eduardo de Castro, respectively, the “gradual and orderly opening of trade customs” with these two Autonomous Cities in compliance with the road map with Morocco and the conclusions of the last High Level Meeting.
