Bilateral relations between Spain and Morocco are going through, according to Fouad Yazourh, ambassador and general director of International Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the North African country, “their best moment.” And he said this not only because trade between both countries is around 22 billion euros, but because, he assured, «we are working in a coordinated manner, with serenity and without haste.» The diplomat refers to the issue of illegal immigration where he wanted to make it clear that his country is doing its homework. «In 2024, more than 70,000 illegal entry attempts were aborted and 18,000 people were rescued at sea. In addition, the voluntary return of another 6,000 was facilitated, he pointed out, emphasizing that the immigrant is a victim and the trafficker is the criminal. Yazourh insisted that little is said about Africa, despite the continent’s enormous potential, although he also recognized great challenges. One of the main ones, he explained in response to The question of Pablo Morán, journalist from Cadena SER, is to pacify the turbulent region of the Sahel, where drug, arms and people traffickers, terrorists and organized crime have opened routes, have coordinated and are gaining ground. Right now, he recalled, the Sahel is the region with the most victims of terrorism in the world, and with more armed groups operating in more territories than ever. “If the international community does not take it seriously, it will be a problem for the entire world. The stabilization of the area involves projects that support its development. Because we have already seen that armed interventions have not given results,» the diplomat highlighted. Yazourh took advantage of his participation in the WIP to detail the roadmap that his Government has put in place to collaborate in the pacification of the region. Among other plans, he cited the future gas pipeline between Nigeria and Morocco, which will pass through 14 countries and will take energy to where there is now none, with the consequent economic and social development that this entails. He also cited the aid plan for countries that, such as Mali, Chad, Niger or Burkina Faso do not have access to the sea, so they can develop trade policies. A third initiative is the alliance of 21 countries that share the coast with the South Atlantic, “because they produce 40% of the African GDP and have more than 60% of the African population. They are very important.» But he clarified: «South-south cooperation is not a concept against the north, on the contrary. “We organized ourselves in the south to be their interlocutors.”
Legitimate protests
In internal affairs, the ambassador referred to the recent protests by young people in Morocco, emphasizing that their aspirations are legitimate, and considering that perhaps not enough effort has been made by political institutions to explain that Morocco is experiencing a process of economic growth and modernization. Finally, and as a good diplomat by training, he did not want to go into an in-depth assessment of Donald Trump’s policies, beyond pointing out that what Morocco has with its Administration is a constructive dialogue on Africa. Nor did he evaluate the state of relations with Algeria. «King Mohamed VI has made several calls to try to normalize the situation, so far without a response, because we are aware that our stability also depends on that of our neighbors.»