• Morocco and Spain sign wide-ranging cooperation deals spanning policy, justice and agriculture

• New accords deepen ties amid easing tensions since 2022 Western Sahara dispute thaw

• Spain remains Morocco’s top trading partner, handling over 37% of 2024 trade

Morocco and Spain signed a series of agreements on Thursday to strengthen their bilateral cooperation, covering foreign policy, justice, agriculture, education and sport.

The agreements were signed on Dec. 4, 2025, on the sidelines of the 13th High-Level Meeting in Madrid. They include a memorandum of understanding on feminist foreign policy, an agreement between the two countries’ diplomatic academies, and a mobility framework for young diplomats.

The two governments also approved a declaration of intent to modernize Morocco’s official printing office, as well as a memorandum on digitizing and managing archival collections. In the judicial sector, an agreement was signed to allow the electronic exchange of mutual legal assistance requests, while a tax agreement formalizes cooperation on assessment, audit and collection.

A joint declaration was also signed to combat hate speech, particularly against migrant workers. Other agreements include a scientific memorandum on seismic and natural hazard research, an agricultural action plan focused on modernizing farms and strengthening food sovereignty, and a maritime fisheries agreement covering the fight against illegal fishing and the digitization of catch certificates.

In the fields of education and culture, an agreement governs the teaching of Arabic in Spanish schools located in Morocco. Ministers also signed a sports cooperation memorandum covering anti-doping and harassment prevention. A joint decision extends social security cooperation for two more years.

These agreements come as tensions between Rabat and Madrid have continued to ease since April 2022, following a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Morocco that helped end a year-long crisis linked to the Western Sahara issue. The diplomatic rupture began after Spain hosted Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali in April 2021, an episode that Rabat considered unacceptable and that was followed by the recall of the Moroccan ambassador and a surge in migrant arrivals in Ceuta and Melilla.

On the economic front, Spain remains Morocco’s top trading partner, accounting for more than 37% of trade in 2024, according to data from Morocco’s Office des Changes.

Ingrid Haffiny