The Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, is on an official visit to Morocco today (Friday). He is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Abdelouafi Laftit, to discuss several issues, atop of which is illegal migration.
Marlaska’s visit is the seventh since he took office in June 2018.
Spain is aware of the pressure shared with Morocco due to immigration and is committed to continuing to bolster cooperation and mutual support in this field, he told MAP.
This cooperation is of great importance, especially with regard to the Atlantic coast route and the arrival of illegal immigrants to Spain’s Canary Islands, Marlaska added.
He has recently visited the Islands and met with the local prime minister to discuss the issue of growing illegal migration from Morocco.
According to official statistics, more than 15,000 illegal Moroccan immigrants have arrived on the Canaries so far this year, roughly four times as many as in the last two years combined.
Marlaska explained that Spain is defending within the European Union “the importance of giving priority to the external dimension in the common migration policy and supporting and boosting cooperation with countries of origin and transit.”
He hailed the joint operations between the Spanish and Moroccan security forces in the fields of countering terrorism or combatting groups involved in crimes, which reflects the close bilateral cooperation and how it leads to improving the security and welfare of Spanish and Moroccan citizens.
The minister further pointed to the significance of the strategic nature of the relations that bring together both countries, noting that the two neighboring and friendly kingdoms wish to bolster and develop these relations and that Morocco is a strategic partner for Spain.
