Pedro Sanchez Praises the Moroccan Community and Strategic Partnership with Rabat, Concluding Meeting with Akhannouch by Signing 14 New Agreements
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, during his meeting with Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch on Thursday, on the sidelines of the 13th High-Level Meeting between the two countries, emphasized that the relations between Rabat and Madrid are rooted in strong human ties. He noted that the Moroccan community is the largest foreign community in Spain and the most significant contributor to social security, with more than 335,000 members.
Sanchez asserted that this fact exemplifies how bilateral cooperation can lead to shared prosperity, according to a statement from the Moncloa Palace.
On the economic front, the Spanish official highlighted the robust trade partnership between the two countries, indicating that Spain has been Morocco’s primary trading partner since 2012.
He also urged Moroccan and Spanish companies to seize the opportunities arising from hosting the 2030 World Cup, affirming the desire of economic actors to deepen collaboration.
According to the same statement, this high-level meeting aims to forge a more modern and inclusive relationship between the two countries, based on a shared vision for current challenges, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate change, and sustainable energy transition, with a focus on placing citizens at the heart of this partnership.
In addition to the jointly adopted declaration confirming both sides’ commitment to enhancing political dialogue and cooperation in areas such as digitalization, administrative modernization, education, and disaster prevention, the meeting also witnessed the signing of 14 agreements, including one international administrative agreement, 11 memorandums of understanding, and two declarations of intent.
In the realm of digitalization and administrative modernization, a memorandum of understanding was signed to support the digitalization of tax administration, along with another concerning the electronic exchange of cooperation requests.
The existing memorandum on social and labor protection was extended, enabling the continued exchange of technical capacities and the modernization of work mechanisms.
The meeting included the signing of a memorandum of understanding on documentary heritage, along with a declaration of intent focused on exchanging information and technical expertise related to the digital production and electronic dissemination of legislative and regulatory texts.
Regarding culture, education, and sports, the two governments signed a new administrative agreement to enhance educational cooperation in Spanish institutions in Morocco, detailing updates to the framework for teacher participation and the criteria for their selection and operational mechanisms, along with the establishment of coordination and follow-up mechanisms.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed to bolster sports cooperation, covering training, experience exchange, event organization, and athlete protection, with the creation of an annual follow-up committee to ensure the implementation of commitments.
In the fight against hate speech, both sides signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation in this area through institutional efforts, awareness initiatives, and coordination to combat misinformation.
Diplomatic cooperation also included the signing of two memorandums of understanding on women’s diplomacy and the exchange of young diplomats, aimed at supporting mobility and training programs and promoting equality and the empowerment of women and girls in foreign affairs.
Other agreements included memorandums related to disaster management, agriculture, and fisheries, focusing on supporting innovation, water resource management, combating illegal fishing, enhancing aquaculture, sustainable agriculture, and food security.
The session concluded with the announcement of a memorandum of understanding dedicated to enhancing scientific and technical cooperation in the study of earthquakes and geodynamics in the Strait of Gibraltar region, given its position at the intersection of tectonic plates.
This collaboration aims to develop shared knowledge about potential seismic hazards by exchanging scientific data and coordinating the deployment of monitoring networks.
