The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, visiting Morocco, announced on Friday the end of the visa crisis which had poisoned relations between the two countries for more than a year.
“We have taken measures, with our Moroccan partners, to restore a consular relationshipin the field of migration, declared Catherine Colonna, during a joint press conference with her counterpart Nasser Bourita, at the end of their bilateral meeting. This cooperation has been effective since last Monday, she said.
This “full cooperation has been effective since last Monday“, she specified, during a press conference with her counterpart, Nasser Bourita. In other words, it is the end of the visa restriction policy. In September 2021, Paris decided to halve the entry permits granted to Moroccans, citing the kingdom’s reluctance to readmit its nationals in an irregular situation in France.
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A similar measure had been decided with regard to neighboring Algeria, where the French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin is making a visit from Friday to discuss, among other things, migration issues.
This measure, described asunjustifiedby Rabat and decried by humanitarian NGOs as well as French-speaking Moroccan circles, poisoned bilateral relations, even if Nasser Bourita tried on Friday to minimize its impact. The ministers insisted on the historical ties between the two countries, from a “particular importance…singular…unique“.
However, this relationship must necessarily evolve at a time when Morocco is diversifying its partners and taking a major place on the African continent, they argued. The two capitals are working on this with a view to a state visit by the French president, the date of which has not yet been set but is scheduled forfirst quarter 2023“.
“My visit today acknowledges the common will of France and Morocco to project us together towards the future, in accordance with the will expressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.“, explained the French minister. Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed VI spoke again on Wednesday evening – after the France-Morocco semi-final in Qatar, after a first exchange on November 1, she said.
“Common Vision”
“We are instructed to prepare for this very important meeting, at the highest level.“, declared for his part Nasser Bourita, adding that Paris and Rabat had a”common visionabout how to evolve their relationship.
France wishesto be in an exemplary partnership relationship with Morocco, an exceptional, fraternal and modern partnership“, also assured Catherine Colonna. It is a question of proposing to Morocco “what France, which has also changed profoundly, has the best“, she continued.
She invited towrite a new page together, in a context where France and Morocco need each other more than ever to ensure their security, support their economic development (…) and meet the expectations of their youth and their companies“.
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Asked about the thorny issue of Western Sahara, the two heads of diplomacy tried to dissipate tensions. “Morocco has never considered France’s position to be negative“, assured Mr. Bourita, after Paris was criticized for being too wait-and-see on what Rabat considers to be a “national cause“.
“Morocco knows it can count on the support of FranceMs. Colonna said, noting “urgency“to reach a political solution”sustainable“when”tensions resurface“. The Western Sahara conflict has pitted Morocco against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers, for decades. The Polisario calls for a self-determination referendum while Rabat promotes autonomy under its sovereignty.
The French minister had arrived in Rabat on Thursday evening where she met with advisers to the king. On Friday, before her interview with Mr. Bourita, she went to the Mohammed-V mausoleum, which notably houses the tomb of the king, grandfather of the current monarch, who ruled the country during its independence from France in 1956. afternoon, she was expected at the Lycée français Descartes where she will defend the French language in a country where more and more young people are turning to English and Spanish.
SEE ALSO – Macron welcomes firm policy on visas