Moroccan and French foreign ministers said on Wednesday the two countries are preparing to sign a treaty to strengthen ties during an upcoming state visit by King Mohammed VI to France.
Jean-Noel Barrot (L) and Nasser Bourita © X
Moroccan and French foreign ministers said on Wednesday the two countries are preparing to sign a treaty to strengthen ties during an upcoming state visit by King Mohammed VI to France.
The treaty will be the first Morocco signs with a European country, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told reporters after talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot.
The two ministers did not specify when the King's visit will take place.
Relations between the two countries have improved since Paris recognised Rabat's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory in 2024.
"Moroccan-French partnership is living its best era at all levels," Bourita said, citing defence industry, security, aeronautic cooperation.
Barrot also said that "this will be the first treaty of its kind with a non-European country," adding that the goal is to lay the basis for long-term relations between the two countries.
Neither party specified what the treaty implies and its details.
France backs the resumption of direct talks between parties involved in the Western Sahara conflict on the basis of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty and in line with the most recent UN Security Council resolution 2797, Barrot said.
This position led to worsening ties with Algeria which hosts and backs the Polisario Front, an armed group seeking Western Sahara's independence.
Morocco is France's top economic partner in Africa, and a logistical and financial hub between France and part of the continent, Barrot said, adding that it was "natural" for the two countries to work together in Africa.
In West Africa and the Sahel, where France has scaled back its presence, Morocco has expanded its influence including through trade, fertilisers, banks, telecom and construction companies.
By Ahmed Eljechtimi
Spain's Ceuta, still reeling from a rush of 72,000 migrants arriving on its shores in one week, is seeking the transfer of hundreds of unaccompanied minors still in the enclave to mainland Spain, local leaders said on Wednesday.
Libyan police said inmates staged a mass escape from a jail on Tuesday while armed clashes erupted nearby in two cities west of the capital Tripoli.
Spanish authorities should have anticipated the consequences of a court ruling that weakened a key deterrent against illegal migration and contributed to last week's mass crossings into the enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco, a senior Moroccan official said on Monday.
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