Operation Marhaba : Ceuta and Melilla want to be included

Ceuta and Melilla want their slices of the Marhaba 2021 cake. Despite the closure of border with Morocco, central government delegations in the two cities are already preparing for this operation.

They jointly developed a document on the operation, says El Faro de Ceuta. The results of their work will be submitted to the government of Pedro Sanchez, revealed the government delegate in Melilla, Sabrina Moh.

The announcement comes as reports suggested that Morocco plans to exclude Ceuta and Melilla from the 2021 edition of Operation Marhaba. This would be a blow to the economy of the two cities, heavily impacted by the closure of the borders with Morocco.

Two months before its traditional launch, on June 15, Rabat has not yet officially communicated on the operation. The Moroccan consul in Algeciras Mohamed Rafaoui was however optimistic, affirming that «all the conditions are met for the operation to take place» this year.