Rabat – French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to pay a visit to Morocco in 2018, Moroccan media outlets reported.
Macron already came to Morocco in June following his election in May. The visit was seen as an indication that the centrist president will continue his predecessors’ strong relations with Morocco.
The kingdom was the second African country visited by Macron after Mali, a country that Macron sees as crucial in his foreign security policy in the Sahel region.
A French source told Moroccan online news outlet TelQuel that Macron’s visit will be unlike the previous one, which they said was marked by “improvisation.”
The first visit was described as a “friendship” visit, during which Macron said he had come to get to know King Mohammed VI, whom he had never met before “in person.”
“Since the beginning of his mandate, Emmanuel Macron wanted to show the importance he gives to French-Moroccan relations by quickly coming to Rabat,” said the French source.
The French head of state is also set to visit Algeria and Tunisia in the same period.
Before Macron’s trip next year to Morocco, two high French officials are due to visit the kingdom.
The French prime minister, Edouard Philippe is expected in Rabat in November for a three-day visit. Philipe will reportedly be accompanied with 10 ministers and will meet with his Moroccan counterpart, Saad Eddine El Othmani, to sign bilateral agreements.
Next week, the French minister of foreign affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian will set foot in Rabat to meet with his local counterpart, Nasser Bourita. The two chief diplomats will discuss preparations for the 13th inter-ministerial joint summit.
