Spanish Royals Set for Long-Awaited State Visit to Morocco in February

The Spanish sovereign and his wife will travel to Morocco on February 13 and 14, according to diplomatic sources cited by the newspaper El Pais. This visit, which includes at least the cities of Rabat and Casablanca, has been repeatedly postponed since July 2014 when they visited Morocco as part of an international tour.

The Spanish Royal House had described this visit as a "priority", but the political deadlock following the 2015 general elections and the Catalan crisis had forced King Felipe VI to postpone it.

Initially scheduled for November 2017, this visit had been, according to the newspaper, postponed following King Mohammed VI’s decision to attend the African Union and European Union summit held in Côte d’Ivoire. Then scheduled for January 2018, it had been canceled at the last minute by Morocco "without giving any explanation".

In addition to the Spanish sovereigns, several important ministers of the government should participate in this visit, including the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, or the Minister of National Education.