20th of July 2023

The Spanish general elections are due to take place this coming Sunday 23^rd of July. The Gibraltar Morocco Business Association (“GMBA”) is aware that the outcome of said elections are crucial for the near and distant future of Gibraltar.

Indeed 176 seats are needed for a majority to be attained and for the formation of a government. According to most opinion polls in Spain the outgoing party PSOE the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party led by Pedro Sanchez seems to be losing out against the Conservative Party PP led by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo and an alliance between the latter and the ultra-conservative and nationalist Party Vox led by Santiago Abascal is an outcome that can today be seriously contemplated.

This situation could raise concerns in Gibraltar and since we do not yet know the results of the negotiations on the terms of the Treaty between the European Union and United Kingdom in relation to the future relations between Gibraltar and the EU, the prospect of a PP-Vox government is potentially a cause for concern.

The GMBA wishes to reassure the public in Gibraltar that even in the worse possible scenario of a Non-Negotiated Outcome (“NNO”) for the Treaty between Gibraltar and the EU combined with the rise of a PP-Vox government, the GMBA has been working hard to create an effective commercial route between Gibraltar and Morocco which would potentially allow for the provision to Gibraltar of all products and services currently provided through Spain.

We hope that the status quo of having over 10,000 workers per day from Spain crossing the frontier into Gibraltar who are essential to the stability of the local economy will not be jeopardised as well as the continued exchange of goods on both sides of the frontier. However, it is important at this stage to appreciate that a serious and effective alternative can be found in our neighbour from the south, namely Morocco.

The GMBA will be launching its website next week. This will allow the public to find out about the opportunities that exist today on the other side of the strait of Gibraltar. The GMBA website aims to facilitate the exchange of networking, foster business opportunities and good relations between Gibraltar and Morocco. In first instance the website’s nature is informative and allows the general public in Gibraltar and Morocco to find out about each other’s habits and customs. We do hope that the GMBA website will become the go to place for companies and entrepreneurs.

The launch of the website will also be the occasion for the public to acquire the commemorative coins specially produced by the Gibraltar mint. These were one of the last British coins endorsed by Her Royal Highness Elisabeth II before her passing on the 8^th of September 2022. The late Queen is depicted on one side of each coin and on the other side one of the coins depicts the famous Berber General Tarik Ibn Ziyad who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 711 and whose name is eponymous to Gibraltar (a corruption of the Arabic Jebel Tarik meaning the Mountain of Tarik) and on the other coin both the maritime link (represented by the Mons Calpe Ferry) and air link (represented by GB Airways) both if which linked Morocco and Gibraltar during the closure of the land frontier between Gibraltar and Spain between June 1969 and December 1982.

The GMBA would like to reassure the public and the business community that we are here to service the community whether we undergo an NNO or a Deal with the European Union. For any information, please contact us at info@gmba.info.

Best wishes

The GMBA board

Gibraltar Morocco Business Association (GMBA)

Watergardens, Block 2. Suite 14

Waterport Road, Gibraltar

GX11 1AA

info@gmba.info

gmbe@icl.gi

Tel: +350 200 66330

www.gmba.info / www.gmbe.me