Spain will host the thirteenth high level meeting between Morocco and Spain on Thursday, with cabinet level delegations from both sides gathering in Madrid as the two governments describe bilateral ties as being at their strongest point in years, according to Spain’s foreign ministry.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will lead the host delegation, while Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch is expected to head Morocco’s team, in a summit framed as a stock taking exercise on political coordination, migration management and economic cooperation.
Preparatory talks began on Wednesday with an economic forum in Madrid bringing together senior officials and business leaders from both countries to identify new partnership tracks in trade, energy and transport, according to statements from Spanish officials.
This meeting will be the second since Rabat and Madrid restored ties after the 2021 crisis triggered by Spain’s admission of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali for medical treatment, which led Morocco to suspend cooperation mechanisms and downgrade contacts.
The reset followed a message sent by Sánchez to King Mohammed VI in March 2022 backing Morocco’s autonomy plan as the most serious and credible framework to resolve the dispute over Western Sahara, a position that reshaped Spain’s policy and cleared the way for the April 2022 joint roadmap.
The last summit, held in Rabat in February 2023, reopened channels on border management, security coordination and economic exchanges. King Mohammed VI did not attend because he was abroad but later received Sánchez on an official visit in February 2024.
Thursday’s meeting is expected to review implementation of the 2022 roadmap, including the status of commercial customs at Ceuta and Melilla, which saw trial cargo crossings this year that were later suspended during the Operation Marhaba transit season.
Officials say talks will also cover migration, security cooperation, energy projects and maritime traffic, alongside regional issues affecting stability in the western Mediterranean, as both governments seek to consolidate the post crisis normalization.
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