UN General Assembly
2002

Moroccan-Spanish talks, which will take place in Madrid this month, will tackle all issues and conflicts between the two countries, within the framework of responsible, calm and constructive dialogue. The completion of Moroccan territorial integrity is an absolute priority for His Majesty King Mohammed VI and for the entire Moroccan people. Therefore, Morocco considers the status of the occupied cities of Sebta and Melilia and of the neighbouring islands to be an anachronistic instance of colonialism that has no place at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Morocco has never ceased, neither at the bilateral level nor in international forums, to officially demand the recovery of these parts of its national territory that are occupied by Spain. In so doing, it has always expressed its readiness to engage in dialogue in order to arrive at a solution that would guarantee Morocco's sovereign rights and secure the interests of the Spanish community in the areas. We fervently hope that the two neighbouring kingdoms, Morocco and Spain, which are bound by ties of neighbourliness, common history and future, will