Morocco Evaluates ’Operation Marhaba’ Amid COVID-19 Concerns

On Friday, the presidency of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Residing Abroad, announced before the House of Representatives the holding of a meeting on Operation Marhaba 2020 this Monday, July 6.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation will attend this meeting, which will focus on the conditions for the conduct of the Marhaba operation, in this period of the covid-19 crisis, as well as the necessary precautions to be taken to preserve the health of the participants.

However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, had announced to parliament the cancellation of this year’s Marhaba operation due to the epidemiological situation in Morocco. Since the appearance of the first case on March 2, the kingdom has recorded 14,132 confirmed cases, 9,410 recovered cases and 234 deaths.

On the Spanish side, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, reaffirmed on Thursday in Algeciras that his country is "ready" for the Marhaba operation which "will not be like the previous ones".