News item | 21-02-2023 | 2:00 PM
On 21 February, State Secretary Van der Burg paid an introductory visit to Moroccan Minister Laftit of the Interior in Morocco. During their meeting, they talked about how they can strengthen their cooperation on migration.
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State Secretary Van der Burg:
“The relationship with Morocco is very important for the Netherlands. My personal meeting today in Morocco with Minister Laftit is another important step in our strong relationship. Over the past period, a lot has already been invested on both sides in our cooperation, including on migration. Very good to talk about this personally, in an open atmosphere today.”
Partnership with Morocco strengthened
In recent months, we have worked hard to strengthen the partnership with Morocco. Delegations from the Netherlands and Morocco frequently visited each other to further deepen cooperation between the countries. The visit of State Secretary Van der Burg to Morocco marks an important moment in this increasingly close cooperation.
It was previously decided in a joint Action Plan to strengthen cooperation between the Netherlands and Morocco, including in the area of migration. For example, both countries are cooperating in preventing irregular migration, strengthening protection and tackling human trafficking and smuggling, improving return cooperation and promoting legal migration.
Return cooperation improved
Return cooperation has greatly improved. Since the cooperation on the action plan, 125 Moroccan foreigners have returned. Morocco provides, among other things, so-called laissez-passers: travel documents with which Moroccan asylum seekers without any prospect of a stay can travel back to Morocco once. From the end of 2022, these can be used more effectively in the Netherlands because the requirement for a PCR test has been abolished. On 15 November 2022, the Council of State ruled that there is again a prospect of deportation of rejected Moroccan asylum seekers, which means that they can be placed in detention. From the end of 2022, an increase in return figures will therefore be seen.
Commitment to broad migration cooperation
State Secretary Van der Burg and Minister Laftit also discussed developments in the region. Morocco is not only a transit country for migrants to Europe, it is also a destination country. Migration cooperation between the Netherlands and Morocco is broad. The Netherlands supports Morocco, among other things, in allowing migrants in Morocco to return to their country of origin. During his visit to Morocco, State Secretary Van der Burg also visited the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).