Morocco and France announce state visit by King Mohammed VI, historic treaty in the works

Morocco’s and France’s foreign ministers announced on Tuesday in Rabat that a state visit by King Mohammed VI to France is «planned» and will be preceded by high-level meetings in the Moroccan capital next July, according to Jeune Afrique.

Speaking to the press alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot during a visit to Morocco to attend a ministerial conference on «peacekeeping in the Francophone space», Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita confirmed that the King’s visit to France is «planned».

Bourita added that the visit, for which no date has yet been announced, «will be marked by a special event (…) namely the Moroccan-French treaty, which will be both a political and legal milestone».

For his part, Jean-Noël Barrot said France is «preparing» to welcome the Moroccan monarch.

Bourita also announced that a meeting of the «High Joint Commission», chaired by the heads of government of both countries, will be held in July.

The French foreign minister added that the bilateral treaty, «the first of its kind for France with a non-European country», is intended to «set the framework for French-Moroccan relations over the coming decades».

Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Rabat earlier on Tuesday, where he co-chaired, alongside Nasser Bourita, the second ministerial conference on peacekeeping in the Francophone space.

The Moroccan capital hosted the international gathering with the participation of the United Nations secretary-general, the secretary-general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, and around 50 ministerial delegations from different continents, as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation on peacekeeping within the Francophone space.