Gibraltar offended by British Ambassador to Morocco comments

H.E. Thomas Reilly British Ambassador to Morocco Credit: Facebook

THE Gibraltar Government is very unhappy with comments made by the British Ambassador to Morocco H.E. Thomas Reilly who in radio interview warned the Moroccan Government not to get too close to Gibraltar for fear of upsetting Spain.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has “taken up the comments” with the Foreign Office as he believes that the role of an Ambassador is to develop positive relations between the country that he or she represents and the host nation. It is not to indirectly discourage trade and economic relations between them based on the possible reaction of third parties.

During the interview the Ambassador said “If we talk about Gibraltar and try to forge links between Gibraltar and Morocco, you Moroccans will have problems with the Spaniards.”

As far as the Government of Gibraltar is concerned, this was more than an unfortunate observation and during the interview, he reminded the reporter that Spain still had a claim for sovereignty over the Rock adding “. I believe that there is a role that Gibraltar can play. Absolutely. Yes, I agree with that. It’s something to explore.

“But I didn’t really want to touch this issue, since I personally didn’t want to offend or cause a bilateral problem between Morocco and Spain, since for me diplomacy is also about looking, it’s not about me first and you people behind.

“it’s about looking at everything that’s going on around you and it’s very important not to upset relations that are so important like the ones Morocco has with Spain.”

Many Gibraltarians remember the fact that when Franco closed the land border between Gibraltar and Spain, it was to Morocco that the Gibraltarians looked, welcoming numerous Moroccans to the Rock to work, also importing such items as fresh fruit and travelling to Tangier by ferry to catch outgoing aircraft.

Written by

John Smith

Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

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