Sahara is affecting Morocco's relations with Spain and Algeria

The Sahara issue is not an economic one but essentially a geopolitical equation that affects Morocco's relations with Spain and Algeria, said a Moroccan minister.

"We are analyzing the problem in this frame and in the struggle that Moroccans are waging to protect the country's territorial integrity, Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister Fathallah Oualalou told a Spanish daily.

Oualalou also underlined the major steps covered by Morocco in human rights and the numerous reforms to modernize the country in various fields. He cited particularly the government's will to streamline relations between tax-payers and the administration to fight the underground economy and establish transparency.

In this regard, he called Spain to play a leading role between Morocco and the European Union and between the Maghreb and the European Union to make of the Mediterranean region a profitable area for Europe. He stressed that all actions in this regard will benefit Spain and the other European countries because "demographic pressures come from the south and not from the east."

He also stressed that it is necessary to achieve economic development and sustained growth to find a genuine solution to the immigration problem and support the country's efforts to control the flow of illegal emigrants.