A BENEFICIAL MEETING FOR MOROCCO

Morocco and Spain hosted a "high-level meeting" today in Rabat chaired by the Prime Ministers, Azuz Ajanuch and Pedro Sánchez. Both have congratulated each other on the strengthening of their political and economic relations. At this meeting, 24 agreements of an economic and business nature were signed.

Morocco has expressed its satisfaction at the fact that Pedro Sánchez will abandon the neutrality that Spain had maintained for more than 40 years on the Western Sahara conflict that divides Rabat and the Polisario Front movement.

Sánchez now supports the autonomy plan for that territory proposed by Morocco, which has generated a cooling of relations between Spain and Algeria.

The Moroccan autonomy plan for the former Spanish colony does not have the support of the United Nations, which considers it a non-autonomous territory subject to decolonization. But Morocco is very satisfied with the support of the United States, Germany and Spain.

All Spanish political parties, except the Socialist party (which is Sánchez's party) have denounced their support for Morocco and continue to demand a referendum on self-determination that allows us to know if the Saharawis want to be Moroccan or prefer to be independent.

Spanish public opinion also criticizes Pedro Sánchez for having made a decision favorable to Morocco, while historically the Spanish have always been on the side of the Saharawi people.

Morocco feels victorious, and perhaps for this reason King Mohamed VI has not wanted to see Pedro Sánchez, limiting himself to a telephone conversation.

For the Spanish, this has been a humiliation that demonstrates the little value that Spain has in Morocco's diplomacy.