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Rabat – King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly had a phone call on Tuesday, November 1.
Quoting sources, Africa Intelligence said that the call “was an attempt to smooth the decidedly strained relations between Paris and Rabat.”
During the phone call, the French president also expressed “willingness” to visit Morocco in an official working trip, an announcement that was welcomed by the King of Morocco.
The sources did not divulge details about the date of the visit.
The reported phone call between King Mohammed VI and Macron comes amid tensions between the two countries due to France’s ambiguous position on the Western Sahara dispute as well as visa restrictions against Moroccans traveling to France.
Last year, France announced its decision to slash the number of visas issued for Moroccan nationals by 50%, prompting backlash and protests from Moroccans.
The French government justified its decision by claiming that Morocco had been “unwilling” to cooperate on the extradition of irregular Moroccan migrants in France.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, however, disputed the claims, emphasizing that France’s decision to slash visas issued to Moroccans was “unjustified.”
In September 2021, Bourita said that Morocco has “always dealt with the issue of migration and the movement of individuals with great responsibility and balance.”
“Morocco aims to facilitate the movement of students and businessmen, while simultaneously countering irregular migration,” he said, stressing that the North African country is “strict when it comes to irregular migration, and migrants with no legal status.”
Bourita revisited the issue of visas this week on the sidelines of the Arab League summit held in Algeria on November 1-2, stressing that the issue of visa cuts is ongoing.
“The arbitrary refusal of Moroccan visa applications remains a sovereign right of France. For the moment, this subject is still pending,” Bourita said.
Many observers have also linked the recent tension to France’s unclear position regarding the Western Sahara dispute – particularly after King Mohammed VI’s August speech.
During the speech that commemorated the anniversary of the Revolution of King and People, King Mohammed VI thanked several countries for their firm positions supporting Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as a good basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
In the speech, the monarch also called upon other traditional partners of Morocco as well as newer ones to clarify their positions on the dispute.
“I, therefore, expect certain states among Morocco’s traditional partners as well as new ones, whose stances concerning the Moroccanness of the Sahara are ambiguous, to clarify their positions and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt,” the King said, stressing that the Sahara issue is “the lens through which Morocco looks at the world.”
“It is a clear, simple benchmark whereby my country measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships,” he added.
