Rabat – The Moroccan-Spanish parliamentary forum, which kicked off Wednesday in Rabat, offers an opportunity to reinforce the commitments of the two legislative bodies and promote dialogue between the two countries, speaker of the Moroccan house of Representatives (lower house), Karim Ghellab said.
Ghellab, who was speaking at the opening session, called for institutionalising such a meeting, which, he added, proves that Morocco-Spain relations are based on “concrete elements,” namely the historical ties, the geographic proximity and the civilisational dimension of the Mediterranean.
He noted that the issues of security and immigration towards Europe are “joint challenges” that require further communication and coordination. These issues join the economy, which “pushes the bilateral cooperation,” especially that Spain is a strategic partner of Morocco, Ghellab said.
The speaker noted that the large-scale projects launched in Morocco are key in reinforcing partnership between the two neighbouring kingdoms, and creating investment opportunities, mainly in solar energy, automotive industry and fisheries.
Chair of the Finance committee at the House of Representatives, Said Khairoun, said that trade exchanges between Morocco and Spain have jumped from MAD28bn in 2002 to MAD70bn ($7.98bn) in 2011, adding that about 800 Spanish companies work in Morocco in the fields of industry, real estate, tourism and banking.
The meeting is meant to give a new impetus to the friendship and cooperation relations between Morocco and Spain. It will discuss topics related to the economy, migration and movement, parliamentary relations and politics and security.
