Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares said he was satisfied with agreements reached with Morocco to relaunch bilateral relations, speaking ahead of a trip to Marrakech, where he will hold discussions with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.
“Everything is progressing at its own pace, without pause, but without urgency,” Albares told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, reported El Pais.
Among the lines agreed on, Albares said that maritime and air connections have completely resumed after almost two and a half years of closure, repatriation flights for irregular migrants have also resumed, and Operation Marhaba is in the moving.
He said renewed cooperation on border security has already begun to bear fruit with “pronounced drops” on the Atlantic coast, while arrivals in the Canary Islands have fallen by 45%.
“I am satisfied with the pace with which the work and coordination of these groups are developing.”
During the press conference, Albares avoided stinging questions on two of the issues that keep Moroccan and Spanish relations strained: the reopening of Ceuta and Melilla border crossings and the Pegasus espionage claims.
The border crossings, closed since the start of the pandemic, were scheduled to reopen in early May, but a lack of agreement on how to proceed with a gradual reopening keeps the crossing points closed.
Albares also avoided questions on the Pegasus espionage case, which affected the phones of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
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