Macron set for key Morocco visit as Western Sahara tensions cool

French President Emmanuel Macron with Morocco's King Mohamed VI at Rabat Agdal train station for the inauguration of a high-speed railway line on 15 November 2018.

French President Emmanuel Macron will head to Morocco next week for a three-day state visit, the Moroccan royal palace said Monday, following years of strained relations.

The visit reflects the depth of bilateral relations based on a deep-rooted and solid partnership, thanks to the common desire of the two Heads of State to strengthen the multidimensional ties uniting the two countries, the Moroccan royal palace said in a statement.

The monarch has described the visit as an opportunity for "a renewed and ambitious vision covering several strategic sectors".

It will be Macron's second since 2018.

Tensions

Tensions between Paris and Rabat have risen in recent years for a number of reasons including France's ambiguous stance on the disputed Western Sahara and also because of Macron's attempts at rapprochement with Algeria.

A statement by the European Parliament in 2023 condemning a rollback in the kingdom's freedom of the press also ramped up tensions, with some blaming Paris.

The two countries were also at odds after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it granted to Moroccans, a decision revoked the following year.

Macron in July initiated efforts to ease tensions with Rabat, saying at the time that Morocco's autonomy plan for the territory was the "only basis" to resolve the decades-old conflict.

"The present and future of Western Sahara are part of Moroccan sovereignty," Macron said in a statement.

But the statement, made during the Olympic Games, didn't please Sahrawis, Algeria, or the United Nations.

But Rabat has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.

(with AFP)


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