The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, met on Tuesday with the Moroccan Prime Minister, Aziz Ajanuch, with whom he discussed, among other issues. the management of migratory flows and the organization of the 2030 World CupThe meeting took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, which both are attending in New York. Sánchez and the Moroccan prime minister last saw each other last February, when the president traveled to Rabat to meet with King Mohamed VI.
“A pleasure to meet the Prime Minister of Morocco again”Sánchez wrote on his social media account “We discussed the management of migratory flows and the commitment to orderly and safe migration,” added the Prime Minister, without going into further details. The meeting took place less than two weeks after Moroccan security forces prevented the mass arrival of immigrants in Ceuta after a social media campaign encouraging them to cross the border to the autonomous city. The Spanish government appreciated the actions of the Moroccan forces.
The Moroccan government has reported The arrest of more than 150 people for inciting illegal immigration to Spain. During the month of August, according to the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, 11,300 attempts to bring migrants to Ceuta and another 3,300 to Melilla were foiled. On the other hand, Sánchez also indicated that he took the opportunity to talk about “the organization of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host.” “We are convinced that it will be a complete success,” said the President of the Government.
Customs, off the agenda
Moncloa sources told Europa Press that the opening of customs in Ceuta and Melilla was not on the agenda of the meeting. The reopening of the customs office in Melilla, unilaterally closed by Morocco in August 2018, and the opening of a new one in Ceuta, are included in the “road map” agreed in April 2022 after the meeting between Sánchez and Mohamed VI, with whom the diplomatic crisis was ended thanks to the Government’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Sahara.
After carrying out three pilot tests for the shipment of goods in the two autonomous cities, the final opening awaits the approval of Morocco, which alleged technical problems have not yet been resolved as of last December at the meeting of foreign ministers in Rabat. At the moment, there is still no date planned.
Meeting with Abdullah of Jordan
On the other hand, Sánchez also had a meeting with King Abdala II of Jordan to whom he transferred, according to what he said in X, his “deep concern about the risk of regional escalation” given the escalation of clashes between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah.
“The Euro-Arab voice in favor of the solution of two states must also be heard at the UN“, declared the president of the government, who launched “once again an appeal to all actors to achieve a ceasefire allowing the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and access for humanitarian aid” to Gaza.
On another note, during his speech at the Economic Forum Spain, Latin America and the United States in the World Economy, organized by PRISA and the Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce, Sánchez defended from New York the good progress of the Spanish economy as well as the policies adopted by the Executive.
He thus reviewed the economic policies carried out since the Covid-19 pandemic and the “milestones” which, as he explained, have positioned Spain among the “five economies” of the 27 Member States of the European Union, specifically citing three factors such as the Iberian solution, the recovery, transformation and resilience funds and, finally, the green transition.
