Eurasia Review
By Said Temsamani
French President Francois Hollande is leading a large delegation in a two-day visit to Morocco. Hollande will arrive Saturday in Tangier to meet King Mohammed VI.
The French delegation will include not only senior officials in French government, but also key players in the dense bilateral relationship: large caliber entrepreneurs, parliamentarians as well as Paris-based Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun and French-Moroccan actor Jamel Debbouze.
Hollande has stated that his prime objective is to strengthen more economic ties between the two countries.
French group Alstom delivered its first TGV high-speed train to the north African country in June as part of a 400-million-euro order for 14 trains for the Tangiers-Casablanca route.
Hollande and King Mohammed VI are expected to hold talks on preventing radicalism and are to sign an agreement on the training of imams, a diplomat has told French news agency AFP.
According to RFI, climate change will also be on the agenda, ahead of the COP21 United Nations Conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris from the end of November.
Morocco, which will host the COP22 event at the end of 2016, is the first Maghreb country to have submitted its contribution to lowering emissions, with the goal of moving to 42 per cent use of renewable energy by 2020.
Powerful bilateral relations between the France and Morocco and confirmed the continuity of their agreement on major world issues. The quality of the dialogue maintained at the highest level and the shared desire to put their exemplary partnership on a more ambitious trajectory will be the focus of this visit of the French President François Hollande to Tangier today.
The road map was drawn automatically. President Holland clearly said: “France reaffirms its commitment to the friendship between France and Morocco and emphasizes its uniqueness through the many links between our two countries.”
French and Moroccan media unanimously confirmed that President Hollande’s visit will confirm once again the constant, dense and deep multifaceted relationship forever marked by the seal of excellence. Today’s meeting between King Mohammed VI and President Hollande will reflect the distinguished character of this partnership and the strong commitment of both parties to strengthen and deepen further in the service of socio-economic development. The two leaders will stress the potential for economic development between France and Morocco and the opportunities now open for more cooperation. Both Morocco and France are already trade partners in many commodities, but they remain even more ambitious for more trade relations that will benefit not only Morocco but the whole region
Undoubtedly, this working and friendship visit will reinforce the strategic dialogue and will benefit the economy of both countries. Many observers are looking forward to the outcome of this visit especially on international issues where both countries have shown a full coordination and convergence of views.
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Said Temsamani is a Moroccan political observer and consultant, who follows events in his country and across North Africa. He is a member of Washington Press Club. View all posts by Said Temsamani
