King's official visit to Spain, an outstanding event, politicians say

The three-day official visit Moroccan King Mohammed VI starts this Monday to Spain, is described by politicians, the civil society and journalists as an outstanding event and a landmark in fostering cooperation between the two countries and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

The Moroccan sovereign's first official visit to Spain is "an outstanding event" that will give new momentum to bilateral relations and blow a new and innovative breath to cooperation, said Spanish foreign minister, Josep Pique, in a statement to MAP on the eve of the royal trip.

Pique hailed the king's resolve to address the major issues that are decisive to Morocco's future, mainly in matters of education, social development, struggle against poverty, and the promotion of a new concept of authority to bring the administration closer to citizens.

After he underlined that the relations between the two Mediterranean countries are so strong that they cannot be tarnished by juncture disputes, Pique surveyed Spain's contribution to development efforts made by Morocco, that he described as "a privileged interlocutor for Spain and for the European Union in general. He recalled that Madrid contributed $50 million to the development of the northern provinces of Morocco and encourages Spanish enterprises and businesses to operate in the north African country.

According to press reports, one of the various agreements to be signed during the royal visit is related to the amounts to be invested by Spain in the Moroccan northern provinces.

Spain which had already converted into investments $87 million out of $879 million that Morocco owes to Spain, is projecting to swap into investments an additional $40 million on the occasion of the royal visit to Madrid.

Secretary general of the Socialist labor party (PSOE), Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, described the royal official visit as "positive and necessary." He pleaded for smooth relations between the two countries and for deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples. The two countries, he said, need to make of the Mediterranean an area of co-existence, solidarity, cooperation, development and mutual respect.

The Moroccan and Spanish media have lavishly commented on the royal visit to Madrid-- the third of the kind to a European country after France in March and Italy in April-that they deemed "a most important event," in the thirteen-century old relations binding the two kingdoms, separated only by a 14 km-long strait.

The visit will consolidate the foundations of the traditional friendship between the two peoples and consolidate a historic heritage that marked the two peoples' destiny. The visit will provide opportunity to overcome juncture differences and give new momentum to political relations, the media said.

The king's trip to Madrid is primarily meant to give a new impetus to efforts for further rapprochement between the two nations, both determined to overcome misunderstandings and settle the problems that hamper their march towards an exemplary north-south cooperation.

The royal visit will actually be marked by the signing of several cooperation accords and will provide opportunity to speed up the implementation of agreements concluded during the 5th meeting of the high joint commission held in May 1999.

Morocco and Spain are bound by a treaty of friendship, neighborliness and cooperation, signed in 1991 in Rabat. The treaty is the first of its kind signed by Spain with an African or an Arab nation.