Some 1.2 million Moroccans living abroad (MRE) and 280,000 vehicles entered Morocco as part of the Marhaba 2023 operation, according to the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.
More than 16,000 vehicles embarked last weekend in Algeciras and Tarifa to Morocco as part of the Marhaba Operation, causing massive traffic jams and a lot of discontent.
The flow of Moroccans from Europe who chose to pass through Ceuta to return to Morocco as part of the Marhaba Operation has decreased by 10% this year compared to 2022.
The good coordination between Morocco and Spain in the organization of Operation Marhaba would be proof of the excellent quality of the relations between the two countries.
The "Strait Crossing" operation (OPE), overseen by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, is in full swing. Between June 15 and July 26, more than one million people, exactly 1,020,606 people, crossed from Spain to Morocco, a figure up 6.1% from the previous year. And there could be a lot of people this weekend.
The Spanish government has activated an emergency plan as part of Operation Marhaba 2023 to prevent lithium-ion and hybrid electric vehicle battery fires on ferries.
As of July 23, more than 900,000 (932,120) Moroccans from Europe have embarked from Spanish ports to Morocco as part of the outward phase of Operation Marhaba.
The ports of Algeciras and Tarifa recorded the passage of 29,000 Moroccans from Europe and 6,700 vehicles bound for Ceuta on Saturday, as part of the Marhaba 2023 Operation. The authorities warn travelers without tickets.
Thousands of Moroccans from Europe arrived last weekend in Ceuta from the Spanish ports as part of the Marhaba Operation, causing a massive traffic jam at the border of the city with Morocco.
One month after its launch on June 15, the Marhaba 2023 Operation has already recorded the passage of more than 600,000 Moroccans from Europe and 145,000 vehicles from Spanish ports to Morocco.
The Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohammed Abdeljalil, reacted on Monday to the opposition’s criticism in the House of Representatives about the rise in boat ticket prices between Spain and Morocco, explaining that this increase is due to global inflation.
As of Sunday, July 9, a total of 419,500 Moroccans living abroad and more than 101,000 vehicles have transited through the Spanish ports as part of the Marhaba 2023 Operation.