Morocco’s King Mohammed VI took advantage of the visit by Spain’s King Felipe VI to announce that at last Rabat has reached a fishing accord with the European Union that will allow Spanish boats to fish in Moroccan waters, from where they were expelled in December 2011.
The monarch’s signature on the document has been pending since February, when the accord was ratified by Moroccan lawmakers, and although it has taken some time for it to receive the royal signature, that has been because in the interim a new disagreement between the EU and Morocco cropped up over tomatoes.
The fact that Mohammed VI has now signed the accord just at this time, a few weeks after the agricultural dispute with the EU, was seen as a “gesture” on the part of the Moroccan monarch toward Felipe VI, given the enormous attention being paid to the sensitive fishing question by several regions in Spain.
Mohammed VI was at the airport in Rabat earlier Monday to greet Felipe and his wife, Queen Letizia.
During the drive from the airport to Mechouar Square, the Spanish monarchs were affectionately greeted along the streets by hundreds of citizens waving Moroccan and Spanish flags.
A ceremony with full military honors took place in the square, followed by a meeting in the royal palace.
In comments after the meeting, the Moroccan king supported having bilateral relations “continue along this road” and expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation “in all areas.”
It was following these phrases, delivered more or less as per protocol, when Mohammed VI divulged the welcome news about the fishing accord.
The Moroccan king will honor Felipe VI later Monday with an “iftar,” or Ramadan meal, where Muslims break the fast they have maintained since dawn and to which some 200 people have been invited.
The Moroccan king’s willingness to welcome the Spanish monarchs during the month of Ramadan is interpreted as a gesture of mutual friendship between the two royal families.
EFE 2014