Rabat – Morocco and France signed 14 cooperation agreements on Thursday during French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s visit to Rabat, further strengthening the two countries’ strategic partnership across different sectors.
Lecornu co-chaired the 15th Morocco-France High Level Meeting today alongside his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch.
The agreements covered different sectors, including a letter of intent on cooperation in feminist foreign policy, an annex to the technical agreement on civil aviation, and a partnership between the French Maritime Academy and Morocco’s Higher Institute of Maritime Studies.
Meanwhile, the cooperation agreements include agreements with the French Development Agency (AFD). One covers the Rabat Regional Express Rail project, while the other is an AFD Loan Agreement on water policy.
The agreements between the two countries also include a declaration of intent on teaching Arabic language, history, and geography within the French education system and a partnership deal between Morocco’s Ministry of Youth and the Arab World Institute.
Among the other agreements the two counties signed today also include a draft framework agreement on scientific cooperation between CIRAD and the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, a cooperation agreement between la Poste Group and Barid Al Maghrib, a framework cooperation agreement between CEREMA and the Public Laboratory for Testing and Studies, alongside two letter of intents, one covering artist residencies and one on Morocco’s participation in the African authors and producers fund.
The two last agreements include a terms of reference for the bilateral defense industry committee and a technical arrangement on military archives.
During the high-level meeting, Lecornu expressed gratitude to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and the head of government for the warm welcome extended to him and his delegation.
“I also wish to thank all the Moroccan and French ministers present today for the quality of this morning’s discussions,” he said, recalling the thrilling quarterfinal between France and Morocco as part of the World Cup.
After seeing many supporters wearing both the French national team jersey and the Moroccan flag, or vice versa, Lecornu added: “To me, that is yet another symbol of a unique friendship built on mutual respect and genuine trust.”
The French MP further emphasized that both he and Akhannouch received a clear mandate from their respective leaders to ensure the full implementation of the commitments made during Macron’s visit to Morocco in October 2024.
“We have also been entrusted with developing new projects and ensuring their implementation in the interest of both our peoples, in the spirit of the exceptional partnership that binds our two countries,” he said, stressing that the two countries are committed to human ties.
“We are working to ensure that French and Moroccan citizens can continue to exchange, travel, work and build lasting partnerships,”Lecornu noted, emphasizing that this is reflected “at the heart” of France’s visa policy.
He vowed that France’s policy seeks to facilitate circular mobility for those who are the driving force behind the ties between the two countries, including entrepreneurs and students, who remain the largest group of foreign students in Morocco.
“Our leading universities and doctoral cooperation programs, as well as initiatives that recognize the contributions of dual nationals on both sides of the Mediterranean and promote the French language as a driver of employability,” he said.
