Spain and Morocco have pledged to "open a new stage" in their relations suspended for a year, after the reversal of Madrid on the question of Western Sahara, during a visit Thursday, April 7 to Rabat by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Pedro Sanchez, accompanied by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, was received in audience in the evening by King Mohammed VI before an "iftar", the breaking of the Ramadan fast, offered in his honor.
A mark of the importance of his trip in the eyes of Moroccans.
During the audience, the sovereign and the head of the Spanish government "reiterated the desire to open a new stage in relations between the two countries", indicated the Moroccan royal cabinet in a press release.
"Realistic and believable"
This normalization was made possible by Spain's decision to now show its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
Pedro Sanchez "made a point of reaffirming Spain's position on the Sahara issue, considering the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the dispute", underlined the royal cabinet.
A few hours before landing in Rabat, the Socialist Prime Minister suffered a setback in the Spanish Chamber of Deputies, which denounced the abandonment of Madrid's "historic" position of neutrality on the former Spanish colony.
The Western Sahara conflict - a vast desert territory rich in phosphates and with waters full of fish - has pitted Morocco against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, for decades.
While Rabat advocates a status of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, the Polisario calls for a self-determination referendum under the aegis of the UN.
Algiers angry
If Pedro Sanchez refuted any idea of a "turn" on this file, he alienated his left-wing allies and the right-wing opposition - as shown by the vote of the Spanish deputies on Thursday - but also the Polisario and Algiers, Spain's gas supplier.
The Algerian daily L'Expression accused Spain on Thursday of having "betrayed (...) the legitimate right of the Saharawi people to their self-determination" and denounced "the dangerous game of Sanchez which has come, above all, to aggravate tensions in the region. ".
The visit of the Spanish leader, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, is part of "a new stage of partnership" between the two neighboring kingdoms, marking the end of a serious diplomatic crisis.
As expected, the two parties agreed to implement "a roadmap covering all areas of the partnership".
"Questions of common interest"
Among "issues of common interest" are illegal immigration, the reopening of borders and maritime links and smuggling around the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, located on the north coast of the kingdom.
But also trade and investment - Spain is Morocco's leading trading partner -, energy cooperation - such as the supply of natural gas after the closure by Algiers of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) -, the delimitation of water territorial...
For Madrid, the main purpose of restoring relations with Rabat is to ensure its "cooperation" in controlling illegal immigration while Morocco, from where most migrants leave for Spain, has been regularly accused, by many observers, of using them as a means of pressure.
The Spanish government also hopes Rabat will tone down its claim to Ceuta and Melilla.
But many analysts warn against the absence of real guarantees obtained by Spain from Morocco.
With AFP
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