Morocco’s FM visits Paris as ties warm up

Morocco’s foreign minister discussed bilateral cooperation with his French peer Stephane Séjourné in Paris, two months after they met in Rabat.

 

“The momentum ushered by my recent visit to Morocco is continuing today with a working session with my counterpart, Nasser Bourita. Relations between France and Morocco are unique,” Séjourné said in a tweet.

 

The visit takes place against the backdrop of improving ties between the two countries as France tilts gradually closer to making a clear-cut stand in support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.

 

France, as reiterated by Séjourné in Rabat, has always backed the autonomy plan for Morocco’s Sahara. Yet, it fell short of adopting a stand similar to that of the US and many African and Arab countries that outrightly back Rabat’s sovereignty over the territory.

 

Séjourné also said that France was willing to support Morocco’s investment effort in the Sahara, a statement that insinuates support for Morocco’s position.

 

Echoing him, French minister in charge of foreign trade, Franck Riester, said his country “welcomes” and is “ready” to finance Morocco’s investments in the Sahara territory.

 

Proparco, an offshoot of French development agency backing the private sector, “would contribute to finance a high voltage link between Dakhla and Casablanca, a strategic project for the Kingdom,” he said last week during a visit to Casablanca.

 

Analysts see the series of French messages as reflective of a stand in the making in support of Morocco on the Sahara.