Spain’s prime minister meets with Morocco’s king and discusses migration and the Israel-Hamas war
Spain's prime minister has visited Morocco as the two nations reckon with a spike in migration to the Canary Islands and a Europe-wide debate and protests about agricultural regulations and imports
RABAT, Morocco — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Wednesday, lauding cooperation on managing migration.
Sánchez also reiterated Spain's position in support of Morocco’s autonomy plan regarding the disputed Western Sahara and called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, which began in October.
“We must also guarantee access to humanitarian aid. The work the UNRWA in the Middle East is fundamental, and Spain has been defending this," Sánchez said in Rabat, referring to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
Last month, Israel said that 12 of UNRWA's employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, prompting the United States and other donors to suspend funding to the agency. Israel has called for UNRWA to be disbanded, but no other U.N. agencies or aid groups are capable of immediately replacing it.
Sánchez addressed reporters alone at a news conference in the Morocco's capital, without the presence of the king or Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, after his meetings with Moroccan officials.
Sánchez's remarks on migration came as Spain and Morocco reckon with a spike in migration to the Canary Islands and Europe-wide debate and protests about agricultural regulations and imports. Morocco has in recent years worked to prevent border crossings to Spain’s two North African exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, and boat crossings through the Strait of Gibraltar.
But this year, boat landings on Spain's Canary Islands, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) off the Moroccan coastline have
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