From business to security cooperation, Morocco and France are forging further cooperation on irregular migration.
Rabat – Following the inauguration of Morocco’s high speed train (LGV), French interior minister Christophe Castaner spoke with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit in Rabat yesterday. French President Emmanuel Macron also came to Morocco to take the train’s first ride with King Mohammed VI.
The official emphasized that France is interested in consolidating cooperation with Morocco in the fight against migrant trafficking. He added that France has much to learn from the cooperation with Morocco in migration and security.
Castaner told the press that Morocco and France have strong ties, expressing France’s determination to further strengthen the cooperation.
He told the press that he discussed the most important issues for both countries with Laftit, especially counterterrorism and information exchange.
Both officials also discussed efforts to fight trafficking of narcotics and migrants.
“The smuggling of migrants is a matter on which we must cooperate even more, given what Morocco is undergoing as a transit country, hence the need to support it and to be mobilized along with Spain on the side of Europe as well as of Morocco.”
On October 31, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian emphasized the importance of Moroccan-French security cooperation.
The French official said that security cooperation between the two countries “is essential to respond to the threat posed by the return of foreign fighters from the Syrian-Iraqi conflicts.”
He also emphasized that Morocco and France must respond to the pressures of terrorism and migratory issues in a “spirit of firmness, responsibility and humanity.”
Yesterday, both France and Morocco inaugurated Africa’s first high speed train.
Macron, accompanied by Castaner, inaugurated the flagship project with King Mohammed VI.
Between January and September, Moroccan police stopped 68,000 undocumented migrant attempts and dismantled 122 active criminal networks.
Nearly 47,500 migrants arrived in Spain by sea since the beginning of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The pressure pushed Spain to campaign for Morocco in the EU, convincing the European Commissioner for migration to approve a fund of €70 million for Morocco to stem undocumented migration.
