Morocco-France high joint committee to be held on July 4

Morocco and France are preparing to hold their high joint committee on July 4 in Rabat, marking a patch up of ties after a period of silent diplomatic tension, Moroccan media reported.

The committee will be co-chaired by Morocco’s Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and his French counterpart Gabriel Attal, who will be having his first visit to Morocco since he took office.

Attal will be leading a French delegation including cabinet members and private sector leaders to discuss an array of economic, regional, and political issues of common interest.

During visits by French foreign and economy ministers, Paris made it clear that it maintains its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara territory.

France has also promised to fund economic projects in Morocco’s Sahara including a 3GW Powerlink from Dakhla to Casablanca, in a move that shows Paris recognition of Morocco’s full economic sovereignty over the territory.

When asked by a French TV when Paris will take a bolder stance in support of Morocco on the Sahara issue, foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné had said that such a stance is for heads of state to discuss, hinting that Moroccan-French ties are headed towards that direction.

Morocco’s king had made it clear that the Sahara issue is the lens through which it measures the sincerity of its foreign relations.

Spain, the US, most of Africa and the Arab World as well as Israel understood this by ending ambiguities by recognizing Morocco’s rights to its southern provinces and backing the autonomy option.

France, the former colonial power, is well-aware of the extent of the imperial Morocco whose borders were amputated during the colonial rule. Its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara would put the final nail in the Polisario’s coffin and deal the most severe blow to Algeria.

After a failed bet on Tebboune’s Algeria, France is losing ground in the Sahel and looks at Morocco as a credible partner who has a say in the region.

Morocco is recognized by France as a “regional power”, as Séjourné said and France has much to gain by mending ties with Morocco instead of betting on a military-run Algeria that is deepening its isolation in the region.