Moroccan King Receives Spanish Prez At The Royal Palace

Rabat, February 22 (TNA) King Mohammed VI on Wednesday received, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Spanish president Pedro Sánchez, who is currently on a working visit to Morocco. This visit follows on from the new stage in bilateral relations, initiated by the meeting between the King and the President of the Spanish Government, in April 2022, and the adoption, on that occasion, of the Joint Declaration between the two countries.

This new momentum is progressing satisfactorily. It is marked by strengthening cooperation, coordination and partnership in all fields, based on the principles of trust, mutual respect, ambition, good neighbourliness and respect for commitments.

During this Audience, the President of the Spanish Government reiterated to the King, Spain’s position, contained in the joint declaration of April 2022, considering the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis to settle this dispute. The King thanked Spain for this new constructive and important position.

Both leaders underlined unique cooperation prospects opening up for the two neighbouring countries. The joint organization, with Portugal, of the 2030 Football World Cup is a further lever for strengthening bilateral ties. The President of the Spanish Government also welcomed and highlighted Spain's interest in the strategic initiatives launched by the Moroccan King, notably the African Atlantic Coastal Initiative, the Royal Initiative to enable Atlantic access for the Sahel countries, and the Nigeria-Morocco African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline.

King Mohammed VI received Pedro Sanchez on two occasions in the past. Once on November 19, 2018, when the meeting focused on reviewing and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and again on April 9, 2022, which marked the beginning of a "new stage" in bilateral relations and resulted in the adoption of a Joint Declaration.