The French Development Agency (AFD) is committed to implementing the commitments made during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco in October 2024, notably development projects in the Kingdom’s Southern Provinces, the Agency’s Chief Executive Officer, Rémy Rioux, said on Thursday in Rabat.
Speaking at a press briefing following talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, the AFD CEO said the meeting provided an opportunity to review the implementation of the commitments made during that visit, as well as the progress of various projects in the fields of railway cooperation, water and sanitation, in addition to the Agency’s investments in the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom.
Rioux, who recalling his visit last year to Laayoune and Dakhla to identify investment opportunities, stressed that the AFD is currently working on financing ports through the National Ports Agency, as well as exploring the possibility of supporting the newly created Regional Multi-Service Companies (SRMs) in these two regions of Morocco.
“We are currently working both on financing ports via the National Ports Agency, but also on the possibility of directly financing these two regions (Laayoune and Dakhla), as well as the regional multi-service companies that have just been created for public services,” he said.
Regarding African cooperation, Rioux noted that his discussions with Bourita focused on Morocco’s and France’s determination to join forces for the development of the continent, “beyond, of course, our bilateral cooperation, by identifying areas of common interest in which our companies and operators would have the capacity to work together, with a view to the Africa-France Summit (Africa Forward) scheduled for next May in Nairobi.”
He also said that his visit to the Kingdom was part of his participation in the “Game Time Africa” Summit, held on the sidelines of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON–Morocco 2025). On this occasion, he praised the high quality of the organization of the continental tournament, as well as the performance of the Moroccan national team during the competition.
