Doha – Gérard Larcher, President of the French Senate, will embark on an official visit to Morocco from February 23 to 26, in a move set to reinforce and redefine the trajectory of French-Moroccan institutional ties. The four-day visit will include stops in both Rabat and Laayoune.
According to converging reports, Larcher will arrive at Rabat-Salé airport on February 23, where he will be formally welcomed by Mohamed Ould Errachid, President of Morocco’s House of Councillors.
His first day’s agenda includes meeting with the French community in Morocco, followed by an official dinner hosted by Ould Errachid.
On February 24, Larcher will begin his day with a symbolic visit to the Mohammed V Mausoleum, followed by a series of high-level meetings.
He will hold talks with Ould Errachid, Rachid Talbi El Alami (President of the House of Representatives), Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. These discussions will focus on bilateral relations and institutional cooperation.
The Senate President will then travel to Laayoune in the afternoon of February 24.
On February 25, his schedule includes meetings with Abdeslam Bekrate, Wali of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid, President of Laayoune’s Communal Council, and Sidi Hamdi Ould Errachid, President of the region.
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The delegation will also visit several socio-economic development projects in Laayoune.
Larcher will be accompanied by a high-level Senate delegation, including Cédric Perrin, President of the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces Commission.
Also joining the delegation are Christian Cambon, President of the France-Morocco friendship group, and Hervé Marseille, President of the Centrist Union group and Vice-President of the France-Morocco friendship group, as cited by multiple Moroccan sources.
The visit will conclude on February 26 when the delegation returns to Paris.
This visit follows the recent announcement that French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati will also travel to Morocco a week before Larcher. The French minister’s visit includes stops in Laayoune and Dakhla, where she is scheduled to inaugurate the French Cultural Center and visit rock art sites.
Larcher’s visit is a continuation of the deepening parliamentary ties between the two countries, notably marked by the signing of a bilateral protocol in December between Talbi Alami and French National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet.
These high-level visits also build on key diplomatic strides in French-Moroccan relations, including France’s formal recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on July 30 and President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco from October 28-30.
