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Join on Telegram Rabat – France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Morocco on Monday, September 10.
The French ministry’s website listed the visit as part of Le Drian’s official agenda.
The ministry did not give more details about Le Drian’s visit.
However, local and international news outlets reported that Le Drian will meet his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita and other officials.
The news platforms also speculated that Le Drian’s main objective is to prepare for a future visit of French President Emmanuel Macron in early 2019.
Maghreb Confidential reported on August 30 that Macron is expected to visit Morocco in November.
The newspaper added that Macron agreed to a prospective visit to Morocco after King Mohammed VI invited him to the launch of Morocco’s first high-speed train, expected to be completed by November.
Morocco’s high-speed train project entered the pre-operation phase in June, and total completion was scheduled towards the end of the year.
During his visit to Morocco, Le Drian, along with Moroccan senior officials, is also expected to discuss migration.
Le Drian’s latest visit to Morocco was in October 2017, when he held talks with Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.
Both the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its French counterpart describe the partnership between Paris and Rabat as “exceptional.”
In his October visit, Le Drian’s ministry called Morocco a “strategic partner for peace and stability” in the region.
“With its return to the African Union and its plan to join the Economic Community of West African States, Morocco plays a growing role in Africa,” said the ministry, noting that cooperation in Africa is a critical issue for Morocco and France.
With more than $4.72 billion-worth of exports, France was Morocco’s biggest buyer of goods in 2016 and its second-biggest supplier with Morocco importing goods worth $5.18 billion from France in 2016.
