Sánchez, who on Thursday visited the Mohammed V Mausoleum to pay his respects to the tombs of late Their Majesties Mohammed V and Hassan II, had arrived in Morocco on Wednesday to co-chair with Akhannouch the 12th Moroccan-Spanish High-Level Meeting.

The 12th Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting, which comes eight years after the last meeting of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms are experiencing following Sánchez's visit to Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

The 12th session of the Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms are experiencing following the visit of Pedro Sanchez to Morocco last April, at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

On his arrival at the Mausoleum Mohammed V, Sanchez, who was accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Khaled Ait Taleb, was welcomed by the historiographer of the Kingdom and curator of the Mohammed V Mausoleum, Abdelhak Lamrini.

After laying a wreath of flowers on the graves of the late Sovereigns, Sanchez signed in Mausoleum's Guest Book.

On this occasion, Lamrini presented explanations about this historical monument to Sanchez.

The President of the Spanish Government arrived Wednesday evening in Morocco, where he will chair alongside the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, the 12th session of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting.

Speaking on the occasion of the Ceremony of Remembrance, organized as every year by the Foundation to celebrate the International Holocaust Day, Azoulay emphasized ''the importance of the Holocaust in the history of humanity. Azoulay highlighted "the exceptional political, social and spiritual consensus embodied by this ceremony which brought together, in the same emotion and the same contemplation, the members of the Andalusian government, the President of the Andalusian Parliament, the leaders of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities and, for the first time, more than fifty students, sentinels, committed and attentive to ensure, over the generations, and without concession or compromise, the relay of the Memory of the Holocaust".

Welcoming the presence and the testimony of one of the last survivors of the Holocaust, Mr. Robert Wolfberg, HM the King's Advisor invited the audience to take the right measure of the words of HM King Mohammed VI in His historic message of March 18, 2009 to tell the Community of Nations that ''His reading of the Holocaust is not that of amnesia but that of a memorial wound that We have inscribed in one of the most painful chapters in the Pantheon of Universal Heritage''.

Pronounced in the land of Islam, these words of the Commander of the Faithful, of all the Believers, echo here and today in Seville to the Lights of Andalusia of all possibilities and they tell everyone the ethical, moral and political contours to which Morocco has chosen to identify its Word'', emphasized, in conclusion, André Azoulay.

Antonio Sanz, Minister of the Presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, recalled that "the Holocaust was the result of thousands of years of hatred and discrimination against the Jews, what we call today anti-Semitism".

"History continues to move forward, but anti-Semitism keeps coming back. We must remain vigilant,'' Sanz continued, saying that ''society urgently needs institutions like ours, the Three Cultures Foundation, to continue to work with determination in the areas of awareness and youth.''

"We need to strengthen social cohesion so that people feel that diversity is an asset and not a threat,'' the Andalusian leader noted.

A people that forgets its history is condemned to repeat it, so practicing memory is the best way to honor all those who died victims of Nazi cruelty during the Second World War, said, on this occasion, Jesús Aguirre, President of the Andalusian Parliament.

''We all have the duty to denounce any form of violence for reasons of belief, ethnicity, ideologies or sexual condition. Let us never forget, let us not turn our backs on those who have had the strength to survive such cruel moments in history as the one suffered by the Jewish people," added Aguirre.

"Today, we must work from education to prevent this situation from happening again in any corner of the world," he concluded.

Among the personalities present at the ceremony, the delegate of the Andalusian government, Ricardo Sánchez Antúnez, the Consul General of Morocco in Seville, Sidi Sidi Abbah, the spokeswoman of the Embassy of Israel in Madrid, Noa Hakim, the Deputy Minister of the Presidency of the Andalusian government, Tomás Burgos, the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain, Isaac Benzaquén, the director of the Centro Sefarad-Israel, Jaime Moreno, the president of the Foundation of the Mosque of Seville, Khalid Nieto, as well as Gabriel Sánchez, ecumenical delegate of the archdiocese of Seville.

"The association Maroc Cultures is pleased to announce to the public of Mawazine that the festival will resume its activities in 2024 to meet the expectations of festival-goers who are longing for the return of this unique and unmissable event at the crossroads of all cultures," said the association in a statement.

Created in 2001 and placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Mawazine-Rythmes du Monde is the must-attend event for music lovers and enthusiasts in Morocco and considered among the greatest cultural events around the world.

Organized every year for nine days, Mawazine offers a rich and demanding program that combines the biggest stars of the world and Arab repertoire, making the cities of Rabat and Salé the scene of exceptional encounters between the public and renowned artists.

With nearly 3 million festival-goers at its last edition in 2018, the festival broke all records, confirming its place as an international music event offering a strong display of the values of openness and tolerance dear to the country.

Mawazine also devotes more than half of its programming to talents from the national scene, setting itself up as a bearer of the values of peace, openness, tolerance and respect, the festival offers free access to 90% of its festival-goers, making accessibility to audiences an essential mission.

Its support to the regional and national tourist economy and its continuous action in favor of the democratization of access to culture make Mawazine a happy and beneficial event, much awaited, underlines the release.

Fully autonomous, Mawazine remains open to all contributions that respect the values of Maroc Cultures. Its economic model is based on income from ticket sales and sponsorship from private companies, with the support and benevolence of the public authorities and security services who spare no effort to ensure that Mawazine takes place in the best conditions of safety, calm and serenity for the population.

Created in 2001, Maroc Cultures is a non-profit association whose main mission is to guarantee the public in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region a professional level of cultural and artistic entertainment worthy of the Moroccan capital. 

Echoing the fundamental values of the development policy of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Maroc Cultures carries out this noble mission through Mawazine Festival as well as various events, multidisciplinary conferences, art exhibitions and concerts.

Imports increased by 39.6% to 737.73 billion dirhams and exports improved by 29.4% to 426.1 billion dirhams, said the Office, which has published its monthly indicators of foreign trade for the year 2022, noting that the coverage rate has lost 4.5 points to 57.8%.

The increase in imports of goods follows the increase in purchases of all product groups.

Indeed, the energy bill has more than doubled to 153.52 billion dirhams in 2022. This development is mainly due to the increase in purchases of gas-oil and fuel-oil (+ MAD 40.34 billion) driven by the increase in prices that have almost doubled (10,283 TD / T against 5,195 TD / T), and to a lesser extent by that of quantities (+7.2%).

Concerning imports of semi-processed products, they increased by 46.4%, following the growth of purchases of ammonia (21.39 MMDH against 6.91 MMDH). Imports of food products, for their part, show an increase of 44.9%.

This development is due to the increase in supplies of wheat, which have almost doubled under the price effect up 40.8%. In parallel, the quantities imported increase by 28.7%.

Purchases of barley also recorded an increase to MAD 3.2 billion in 2022.

Regarding imports of raw products, they increase by 49.9%. This development follows the increase in purchases of crude and unrefined sulfur (+8.03 billion dirhams).

At the end of 2022, exports of goods increased by 29.4% to 426.1 billion dirhams against 329.405 a year earlier.

This increase concerns exports of all sectors, led by phosphates and derivatives, the automotive sector and the agriculture and agri-food sector.

This announcement was made during a meeting held Wednesday in Nouakchott between the Ambassador of the Kingdom in Mauritania Hamid Chabar and the President of the National Union of Mauritanian Employers, Mohamed Zine El Abidine Ould Cheikh.

During this meeting, emphasis was placed on the preparations for this event which will see the participation of a large number of Moroccan companies, as well as on ways to strengthen trade and economic exchanges between the two countries and consolidate the investment climate.

In this context, the two parties also emphasized the important role played by employers' organizations of both countries in promoting trade through the signing of cooperation agreements, investment and exchange and the organization of economic forums.

They welcomed the support of public authorities to the efforts to develop trade between Morocco and Mauritania.

These projects will be carried out by Spanish companies in Morocco, said Sanchez who spoke at the forum alongside the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, stressing that Spain and Morocco share the ambition to move forward in terms of bilateral relations, including with the 24 agreements to be signed.

These relations, he argued, are in the interest of Morocco and Spain, but also of Europe.

Meanwhile, Sanchez recalled that Spain is the third foreign investor in Morocco and welcomed the level of trade between the two countries.

Organized on the sidelines of the 12th Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting (HLM), at the initiative of the General Confederation of Moroccan Business (CGEM), the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) and the Economic Council of Morocco and Spain (CEMAES), this forum was an opportunity to discuss the question "How can Moroccan and Spanish companies together seize the opportunities presented by the reconfiguration of global value chains? " and « Energy transition, environment and circular economy, key sectors of Morocco-Spain economic partnership".

Sanchez will co-chair with Akhannouch this High Level Meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism.

This meeting is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms following the visit of Sanchez to Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

The audience of this edition, held from February 1 to 11 in Tangier and Rabat, was amazed by a series of choreographies, songs and music and images linking the past and the present and highlighting the beauty of Morocco's nature, architecture and hospitality.

Among the highlights of the evening was a rhythmic folkloric show with a modern touch that took the audience on a fascinating journey through different regions of Morocco.

The passion for football was strongly emphasized, with a return in images on the scenes of jubilation of the Moroccan public in reaction to the Atlas Lions’ performance during the last World Cup in Qatar.

The highlight of this moment of nostalgia was the appearance on stage of the national coach Walid Regragui, the surprise guest of the evening, warmly welcomed by the public.

The organizers of this opening ceremony also paid a posthumous tribute to the legend Pele, who died in late 2022.

Morocco organizes the Mondialito for the third time, after the 2013 edition that saw the Raja of Casablanca reach the final (defeated 2-0 against Bayern Munich) and that of 2014, which saw the participation of the Moghreb of Tetouan, as champion of Morocco.

Speaking at the Morocco-Spain Economic Forum held on the sidelines of the High Level Meeting (HLM), Sanchez highlighted the importance that his country attaches to relations with Morocco and the common goal of opening a new stage that will allow to benefit from the full potential offered by these renewed relations, which are based on trust.

Spain and Morocco, he added, share the ambition to move forward in this new stage, especially with the 24 agreements that will be signed, believing that relations between the two countries are in the interest of Morocco, Spain and also Europe.

This new economic partnership will allow Moroccan and Spanish companies to be more prosperous, said Sanchez, announcing the signing of a new financing protocol of 800 million euros to finance new projects of common interest carried out by Spanish companies in Morocco.

President of the Spanish government also emphasized the opportunities of trade, infrastructure and strategic sectors.

In addition, Sanchez recalled that Spain is the third largest investor in Morocco, considering that the legal component is a key tool to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

For his part, Akhannouch stressed that the strength of the Moroccan-Spanish relationship is fueled by the positive dynamics of bilateral trade.

"Spain is now the first trading partner of Morocco, on imports as exports. Morocco is the third trading partner of Spain outside the European Union, after China and the United States and the 1st destination of Spanish exports in Africa and the Arab world," he said.

"Our trade reached 17 billion euros in 2021. In the first nine months of 2022, they were up more than 21%," he added.

Meanwhile, Akhannouch noted that the stock of Spanish investment in Morocco is growing while the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) positions Spain as the third foreign investor in Morocco.

On this ground, the margin of progression remains important, whether in energy, transport, tourism or industry, especially in the light of the scheme provided by the new Investment Charter, said the Head of Government.

Akhannouch also said that the HLM "is an opportunity to celebrate the excellence of relations between our nations, under the leadership of the enlightened vision of Our Sovereigns, His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Majesty King Felipe VI."

"As such, a new era of our bilateral relations has opened, through the position of your government regarding our southern provinces. Spain has had the courage of historical realism. And for this, Morocco pays tribute to you," he said, insisting on working hand in hand to build, together, a better future.

He concluded: "It is not surprising that a reliable, strong, flexible, intelligent and multidimensional partnership, translates into economic development. This is the meaning we wish to give to our partnership, as desired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, that of a leadership in the service of development and peace in our Mediterranean region and, beyond, a model of understanding and shared prosperity for all nations."

Organized at the initiative of the CGEM, the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) and the Moroccan-Spanish Economic Council (CEMAES), this forum was an opportunity to discuss the question "How Moroccan and Spanish companies can seize together the opportunities presented by the reconfiguration of global value chains?" and "Energy transition, environment and circular economy, key sectors of the Moroccan-Spanish economic partnership".