In the last months, the number of Spanish senior officials visiting Morocco has surprisingly increased. These visits come as Morocco is dealing with several issues related to migration, security and smuggling.
Consultations to replace the sacked ministers on October the 24th have been resumed. In theory, the ministerial reshuffle is expected to revive the Department of African Affairs, which has been removed for five decades. The ministry could be assigned to a technocrat.
King Mohammed VI dismissed on Tuesday four ministers from El Othmani's cabinet. The royal decision came after the Sovereign voiced his discontent with the slow pace of development projects, which fall within the framework of his «Lighthouse of the Mediterranean» initiative, inaugurated in October 2015. Abdelilah Benkirane, on the other hand emerged unscathed.
To prevent the occurrence of another scenario similar to the Hirak movement in the Rif region, El Othmani’s government is set to visit a number of regions in order to evaluate the implementation of developmental projects. Béni-Mellal and the three regions of the Sahara will be the first parts to benefit from this operation.