France’s commitment to contribute to socio-economic development of Moroccan Sahara renewed by Ambassador Lecourtier

France is committed to contributing to the socio-economic development of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, as part of the multifaceted cooperation between France and Morocco, Ambassador Christophe Lecourtier said Tuesday in Dakhla.

“We are working to embody France’s concrete willingness” to contribute, alongside Morocco, to enshrining the economic and social development of the southern provinces, Lecourtier told the media during his visit to the region, the first by a reporesentative of French diplomacy.

The aim of the visit is to concretely reflect the cooperation between Morocco and France in the economic, cultural, social and educational fields, he said.

He made it clear that this visit comes at a particular moment in Morocco-France relations, as it illustrates the support expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron in his letter to King Mohammed VI, affirming that the present and future of the Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.

This support was reiterated by President Macron during his latest state visit to the kingdom when he delivered an addressed before the Moroccan parliament.

The French diplomat explained that the purpose of the French delegation’s visit to the region was also to learn about projects already implemented or planned to be implemented, as part of the Regional Development Program (PDR), and to examine the role French partners could play in this process.

“A number of French companies are already active in the region,” he pointed out, expressing his country’s willingness to carry out new projects with stakeholders in the region over the upcoming months.

President of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab Regional Council, El Khattat Yanja, said that the visit of the French ambassador and his accompanying delegation expresses France’s firm determination to give practical effect to its position of support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.

The French delegation, he continued, includes investors keen to explore Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region’s many investment opportunities, with its promising potential in many fields. The region is witnessing a major development dynamic, following the launch by King Mohammed VI in 2015 of the new Development Model for the Southern Provinces, he recalled.

In addition to the President of the Regional Council, Lecourtier held talks with other senior officials and elected representatives.

Relaxed and wearing a Sahrawi daraiya (traditional robe), Christophe Lecourtier was accompanied by a significant number of senior officials and heads of departments from the French Embassy, overseeing economic, cultural, educational, and development affairs.

In parallel to this trip, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morocco (CFCIM) is organizing “Economic Days” in the regions of Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, which are attended by around fifty business leaders and economic decision-makers from Morocco and France.

Since the opening of its delegations in Laâyoune in May 2017, in Dakhla in March 2019, and recently in Guelmim in February 2024, the CFCIM has exerted continuous efforts to promote economic partnership between France and Morocco.

In this connection, the Ambassador said “all French public and private forces are here to understand the scope of projects envisioned by the region under the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces.”

Christophe Lecourtier was on Tuesday in Laâyoune whe he held talks with Hamdi Ould Errachid, the mayor of the city, focusing on the prospects for bilateral cooperation in the economic, cultural, and educational sectors.

The diplomat and his accompanying delegation also participated in the first stage of the economic roadshow organized by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morocco.

The roadshow allowed the French business leaders and economic decision-makers to learn about the economic opportunities in the region, to network with Moroccan stakeholders and project leaders, and to explore collaboration prospects and concrete investment projects.