Moroccan- spanish relations, migration top Catalunian parliamentary group talks in rabat

A delegation of the Spanish local government of Catalunia, currently visiting Morocco, reviewed with Moroccan officials a set of issues related to relations between Morocco and Spain, mainly migration questions.

The Catalunian legislators met with speakers of the two parliamentary houses, Abdelouahed Radi and Mohamed Jalal Essaid, and Moroccan peers over trade and cultural exchanges and the issues of Moroccan migration to Spain.

The Spanish delegation were called to contribute to Morocco's efforts to upgrade its economic competitiveness in the perspective of 2010 when a free-trade area is set to be enforced with the European Union.

The Spanish law-makers insisted that the Sahara belongs to Morocco and that Spain supports the UN settlement plan providing for the holding of a referendum in the territory. They also recalled that their country recognizes a 1975 ruling of the International Court of Justice which acknowledged Morocco's rights over its southern provinces.

As many as 100,000 Moroccans are working in the Catalunian region which is one of the most important industrial and trade regions in Spain.