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French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Morocco “at the end of October,” a report by AFP quoted the Elysee as saying today.
According to the news agency, the visit seeks to deepen the ongoing revival of bilateral ties between the two countries after a long period of tension.
The visit comes as a result of a request from King Mohammed VI, the Elysee statement noted, adding that the Moroccan monarch sent President Macron a letter in which he expressed his satisfaction with the “promising horizons that are emerging for our two countries.”
The news also comes in the wake of intense efforts by both countries to boost their renewed bilateral ties after prolonged tensions.
While visiting Morocco earlier this year in February, France’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne described ties between Paris and Rabat as “unique.”
As his visit sought to initiate a bilateral dialogue to end the lingering tensions between the two countries, Sejourne stressed France’s determination to “build momentum” towards cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries witnessed political crises due to several challenges, including Morocco-bashing campaigns by the leading French media.
Many politicians and observers in Morocco had linked some of the recent anti-Morocco campaigns by EU bodies to France, including a number of European Parliament resolutions that accused Morocco of “intimidating” and “harassing” journalists and activists.
In July, however, France addressed the situation after it recognized Morocco’s full sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
The French president said in July that Paris’s position is that “the present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.”
France’s stance on the matter remains “consistent and unwavering,” aligning with the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007, he added.
The autonomy initiative “constitutes the only basis for a political, fair, sustainable, and negotiated solution, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Macron stressed.
