Spanish delegation expected in Rabat for Operation Marhaba Preperations

Next Friday, Spanish and Moroccan delegations will meet in Rabat to prepare Operation Marhaba 2022, the first joint transit operation in two years.

According to Europe Press, it is expected that 14,870 members of the National Police and the Civil Guard from the Spanish side will participate in this operation.

Before next week’s meeting, the Spanish Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Isabel Goicoechea, who will head the Spanish delegation in Rabat, chaired this Friday the second meeting of the State Committee of Coordination and Direction (CECOD) to plan the meeting of the Spanish-Moroccan Joint Commission, in the capital of the neighboring country.

The meeting saw the participation of the general director of Civil Protection and Emergencies, Leonardo Marcos, and the general director of Traffic, Pere Navarro.

The Spanish delegation coming to Rabat also met with representatives of the Vice-Presidency for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda; Territorial Policy and Public Function, and Health will also form part of the delegation, in addition to the Ministry of the Interior.

Delegates of the Ceuta and Melilla Governments, Salvadora Mateos and Sabrina Moh, we’re also present, in addition to the subdelegate of the Government in Alicante, Araceli Poblador, and representatives of the Delegation of the Government in Andalusia and Valencia, as well as the Sub delegation of the Government in Cadiz.

Operation Marhaba has been held since 1986 to manage the transit of citizens between the Grand Maghreb and European countries during the summer season. This is one of the most significant movements between the two continents in such a short period of time.

During the last Operation, held in 2019, 3,340,045 passengers and 760,215 vehicles crossed the Strait through Spanish ports during the departure and return phases, between June 15 and September 15.

The 2019 season represented a record number of passengers and vehicles, with a 3% and 3.5% rise respectively compared to 2018.

The 2022 operation includes a fleet plan, provincial coordination plans and administrations of each of the Ports participating, security and traffic plans, as well as health and social assistance measures, with special attention to the pandemic.