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Rabat – Since August, Moroccan and international news outlets have been reporting on a possible visit from Macron to Morocco.
The French president is set to chair the launching of Morocco’s LGV first high-speed train.
Quoting an anonymous source, Moroccan news outlet Hespress reported that Macron might also visit Morocco again in early 2019.
Morocco’s high-speed train project entered the pre-operation phase in June, and the project was set to be complete towards the end of the year.
During his visit to Morocco, Macron is also expected to discuss a range of common interests with King Mohammed VI.
Hespress’ source denied any tension between France and Morocco, because of the postponement of the visit of French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Morocco.
According to the source, the postponement was due to Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita accompanying King Mohammed VI to the UAE at the time.
In September, Moroccan media reported that Le Drian would visit Morocco on September 10.
However, Le Drian and Bourita did not meet until Wednesday in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, west of Paris.
During the meeting, Le Drian pointed out Morocco’s role in combating terror threats posed by returning fighters from Syrian-Iraqi conflict zones.
He said that the Moroccan-French security cooperation “is essential to respond to the threat posed by the return of foreign fighters from the Syrian-Iraqi” conflict zones.
In June, the two countries joined Belgium and Spain in creating a joint anti-terror front to “materialize,” “upgrade,” and “harmonize” their efforts regarding intelligence, field interventions, and deradicalization.
The two officials also discussed efforts to tackle migratory pressures in both countries.
Le Drian said that Morocco and France must respond to the issue in “a spirit of firmness, responsibility and humanity.”
An important ally to Morocco, France remains the foremost foreign investor to its African counterpart. There has recently been a marked increase in Morocco’s exports to France, rising by 20 percent in 2016 alone, according to the French government.
