King Juan Carlos: Spain follows with admiration democratic process in Morocco

King Juan Carlos of Spain on Tuesday praised the reforms ushered in Morocco, since the enthronement of King Mohammed VI (July 1999), stressing that his country is following with "admiration" the consolidation of the democratic process and public freedoms progress in the Kingdom.

Addressing MPS from the two Moroccan parliamentary chambers, the Spanish monarch said "in modern Morocco, you are the voice of the Moroccan people will. Your country has benefited from an institutional tradition that strongly contributed to preserving its identity while keeping abreast with democratic changes."

The Spanish king, who started on Monday a three-day state visit to Morocco, added that after the late King Hassan II, the king's father, laid down the bases of the changes, "the task of giving a final shape to this new reality was taken over by HM king Mohammed VI."

He cited as part of these reforms, the draft law on political parties, headways achieved in public freedoms and the adoption of a new family code.

The Spanish king further insisted how the friendship, cooperation and neighborliness treaty (signed in 1991) has produced evidence to the shared will of the two countries to move forward, before calling for fully developing the parliamentary diplomacy mechanisms through meetings between speakers of the two countries and intensifying the work of committees and friendship groups in order to "promote and give a new impetus to shared ambitions."