Following the landmark crossing of the first commercial shipment from Ceuta to Morocco, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has confirmed the smooth operation of Spanish and Moroccan customs. The two countries are committed to ensuring the continuous flow of goods through the customs crossings in the autonomous cities, aiming to avoid a return to past tensions. This development is part of the joint declaration signed between Rabat and Madrid on April 7, 2022. The agreement followed a pivotal meeting between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Mohammed VI, marking the end of a diplomatic crisis and opening new avenues for bilateral relations. During a visit to Rabat in late 2023, Albares met with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, and confirmed Spain's readiness to open the customs crossings after three successful trial runs. Meanwhile, Morocco was finalizing the necessary technical procedures. The two nations agreed that the first truckload of goods would cross on January 8, 2024. However, technical issues delayed the process, causing the trucks to return to their starting point. On January 15, the first shipment from Melilla successfully crossed into Morocco. Albares hailed this as «the first step in the first phase towards establishing a regular customs crossing», though he did not specify a timeline. He expressed confidence that the Ceuta crossing would achieve similar success, which indeed occurred on Tuesday. On the same day, Melilla witnessed another shipment of household appliances and refrigerators crossing into Morocco, marking the second crossing since the reopening of commercial customs.
