Spain’s King Felipe VI presided over Madrid’s traditional reception of foreign ambassadors today, January 17, despite the continued absence of the Moroccan ambassador to Madrid, Karima Benyaich, due to the diplomatic crisis that erupted between the two countries in April 2021.
According to several Spanish news outlets, the Moroccan ambassador to Spain was absent from the diplomatic reception, to which a number of prominent personalities are in attendance including the Spanish Queen Letizia, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and the Spanish Foreign Minister Manuel Albares.
Diplomatic tension continues to characterize the bilateral relations between the two countries following the entry of Polisario Front’s leader, Brahim Ghali, for hospitalization into Spanish territories with forged documents in April last year, without consulting Rabat.
As a result, the two capitals have not maintained diplomatic communication for a while before their coordination regarding joint projects gradually resumed in recent months.
In this regard, Jose Manuel Albares, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed that “Morocco and Spain need each other more than ever, and bilateral cooperation on contentious issues will be completed because this will benefit both parties,” considering that “Morocco’s roles at the level of stopping the flows of Irregular migration is commendable.”
A series of political developments led Morocco to summon Benyaich back to Rabat last May to have a discussion over bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
“In relations between countries, there are actions that have consequences that must be borne,” Benyaich said, in a previous press statement, referring to Spain’s decision to provide medical care to the leader of the Polisario Front without notifying Morocco and providing an adequate explanation to the decision.
The Moroccan ambassador added that there are “unacceptable positions” and stressed that “relations between neighboring countries and friends must be based on mutual trust that must be worked on and nurtured.”
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