Canary Islands absent from Morocco-Spain high-level talks

Morocco and Spain signed 14 agreements across strategic sectors during their 13th high-level meeting in Madrid on Thursday, December 4, marking a new step in bilateral ties.

The 13th Morocco-Spain high-level meeting ended without any explicit mention of Ceuta and Melilla, the two cities occupied by Madrid. They were referenced only indirectly in point 62 of the final declaration, in the context of customs cooperation.

The Canary Islands were left out of the official discussions. The omission reflected a mutual effort to avoid friction, as both sides highlighted strengthened cooperation and a partnership described as historic, with the joint hosting of the 2030 World Cup on the horizon.

The delimitation of maritime borders remains one of the most sensitive issues. Rabat asserts its right to establish its maritime boundaries and challenges Spain’s reading of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The contested area lies west of the Canary Islands, stretching nearly 350 nautical miles, including a 200-mile zone where Moroccan and Canarian waters overlap.

The area’s subsoil is rich in tellurium, cobalt, and other rare minerals vital to the global economy. These strategic resources have fueled a silent rivalry between Rabat and Madrid, as the technological revolution and the rise of the fifth industrial generation increase the geopolitical importance of critical metals.

In Washington, the resources are seen as vital to U.S. economic security, particularly as commercial and technological rivalry with China intensifies. Beijing holds a dominant position in the extraction and refining of rare minerals, prompting the United States to seek new supply sources, notably in strategic areas such as the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

In this context, Morocco could gain a strategic edge in future negotiations. The Kingdom’s role as a reliable U.S. ally contrasts with Washington’s sometimes strained ties with the government of Pedro Sánchez, particularly during the Trump administration.

The geopolitical configuration strengthens Rabat’s room for maneuver on an issue where economic, technological and security stakes are rising.

The only reference to the maritime issue was made outside the joint statement, in a declaration by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. In an interview with EFE agency, he called for "imaginative solutions" to key points of disagreement between Madrid and Rabat, including Morocco’s request to manage Sahara airspace and ongoing talks over the maritime border southwest of the Canary Islands and west of the Sahara.

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