Rabat – Morocco and France have reaffirmed their close cooperation on migration management during a high-level working meeting held Friday in Paris, bringing together senior officials from both countries, including consuls general and top immigration authorities.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a broader seminar gathering Morocco’s 17 consuls general in France, and focused on improving coordination between Moroccan consular services and French administrative and immigration institutions.
According to a joint statement, the discussions reflect the implementation of the “enhanced exceptional partnership” Rabat and Paris signed in October 2024, as well as follow-up work after the 8th meeting of the Morocco-France Joint Migration Group held in Tangier in May 2026.
The French delegation included Frédéric Joram, Director of Immigration at the General Directorate for Foreigners, and Mireille Larrède, Prefect Delegate for Immigration at the Paris Police Prefecture. The Moroccan side was represented by Khalid Zerouali, Director of Migration and Border Surveillance, Fouad Kadmiri, Director of Consular and Social Affairs at Morocco’s Foreign Ministry, and Samira Sitaïl, Morocco’s ambassador to France.
Both sides said they were satisfied with the current level of maturity in their migration partnership and the progress achieved so far.
The meeting reviewed recent developments in bilateral migration cooperation and explored ways to improve operational coordination, especially between consular services and French local authorities. Officials also discussed ways to make procedures more efficient and improve information sharing.
Read also: IOM Report: Morocco-Spain, Morocco-France Among Top African Migration Corridors
Key topics included facilitating legal mobility, particularly for Moroccan students in France and their residence permit procedures, preventing irregular migration, and strengthening cooperation on deportation and readmission processes. Both sides stated that these efforts must respect human rights, dignity, and international commitments, while also ensuring shared responsibility.
French officials discussed ongoing measures to simplify the renewal of residence permits for Moroccan nationals. They also noted the important role of coordination between French prefectures and Moroccan consulates in handling individual cases and administrative procedures.
The Moroccan delegation also stated it is important to protect the rights of Moroccan citizens living in France, particularly students, and called for a balanced approach to migration cooperation that combines responsibility with respect for human dignity. Morocco also underlined that human, cultural, and economic ties between the two countries remain a key pillar of their bilateral relationship.
Officials from both countries commended the improvement in cooperation indicators and the quality of communication between central administrations, prefectures, and consulates. They also described the format of the meeting as a useful operational platform that helps improve understanding, speed up administrative processing, and strengthen trust.
Migration has long been a central issue in Morocco-France relations, given the large Moroccan community living in France and the historical ties between the two countries. In recent years, both governments have worked to reset and deepen their partnership, with a stronger focus on managing legal mobility, fighting irregular migration, and improving consular cooperation.
MWN with MAP
