The thorny issue of immigration was front and center in the discussions between Zapatero with Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas ElFassi, who stressed that Morocco is pursuing efforts to fight illegal immigration, local MAP news agency reported.
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Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero gestures during a news conference in Oujda July 11, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
"We make great efforts and enormous sacrifices, especially at the financial level, to fight the flow of illegal immigrants," El Fassi was quoted as saying at a joint press briefing with Zapatero.
These efforts have served in curbing the immigration flow towards Europe and the European Union (EU) and Spain recognizes that, he said.
"Today Morocco is not a immigrant exporting country, but a host country for thousands of sub-Saharan illegal immigrants," he said, stressing that Morocco respects the dignity of its immigrants.
Zapatero's brief visit to the North African kingdom, the first since his re-election in March, was also an opportunity to discuss the UPM, whose official launch is due on July 13 in Paris.
Morocco and Spain have voiced support to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to set up such a union since the outset.
Both countries are due to attend the official launch of the UPM, which would muster the 27 members of the EU plus the countries bordering the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
The two officials also talked about fostering economic cooperation. Spain contributes 13.8 percent of Morocco's overall trade operations, and over 900 companies from Spain are implanted in Morocco, making Spain Morocco's second largest trade partner after its former colonizer France.
The visit to Morocco reflects the will of Spain to further reinforce the privileged relations with Morocco, Zapatero told the press.
The prime minister described Morocco as a neighboring and friendly country with which Spain is keen to reinforce cooperation both in terms of security and the fight against illegal migration.
