Commercial customs in Sebta and Melilla are expected to reopen next week

Commercial customs in Sebta and Melilla are expected to open next week, ahead of the high-level meeting between Morocco and Spain scheduled for February 1-2 in Morocco.

According to Spanish media, commercial customs in the two cities should reopen next week, probably on Wednesday January 25, a week before the High Level Meeting (RAN) scheduled for Rabat on February 1 and 2, “unless there is a change in the last minute “.

The high-level meeting scheduled for early February should see the presence of Pedro Sanchez and a dozen ministers to formalize the new relationship between Morocco and Spain provided for in the roadmap signed on April 7 in Rabat.

In the Joint Declaration, there is talk of the full normalization of the movement of people and goods which “will be restored in an orderly manner, including the appropriate mechanisms for the control of customs and people on land and at sea”.

This reopening will be done gradually, according to the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares. For the moment, it is mainly a question of perishable goods which interest the inhabitants of the enclaves.

These goods should enter under customs control and undergo a health check at Cañonero Dato in Sebta where there has never been a customs office. About 1.5 million euros will be invested in a new customs office for the city.

The entry of products of non-animal origin will also be authorized and it is expected that these products will be transported by land if they are at ambient temperature and by sea if not.

The Secretary General of the PSOE in Sebta, Juan Gutierrez, encouraged the reopening of the borders to allow the passage of goods, believing that “the reopening of the borders should represent a unique opportunity to revitalize the local economy, weakened by the lack of fabric industry, and to build a new framework in the midst of good neighborly relations with Morocco”.

The secretary general of the Socialist Party stressed the importance of the return of fish to the enclave directly from Morocco via Tarajal, because in recent years, even following the reopening of the border post, this was not the case.

“Sebta has always been famous for the high quality of the fish and its good prices, but by not allowing the direct passage, the product does not arrive fresh, and in addition it becomes more expensive,” said Juan Gutierrez,