Franco-Moroccan Relations are Founded on ‘Very Deep’ History, Friendship – French Senate Speaker

Rabat – Relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of France are founded on a long history and on a “very deep” friendship, Speaker of the French Senate Gérard Larcher affirmed on Monday in Rabat, following talks with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita.

“We had a very interesting exchange to take stock of this new chapter in the book we have been elaborating together since the visit of the President of the Republic” to the Kingdom, Larcher, who is on an official visit to the Kingdom at the head of a large delegation, told the press.

“Today, thanks to the will of our two Heads of State, we have found a path” in which the Senate has played a ‘very important role’, notably through parliamentary diplomacy and friendship groups within the parliaments of the two countries, Larcher stated, emphasizing that this diplomacy ‘can forge channels and networks’ between the two countries.

Discussions with Bourita also focused on “this new perspective, particularly with regard to the South Atlantic coast, which is essential for the stability of the African continent, and beyond that, for the stability of the world”, he noted.

Larcher also stressed that his visit to Laâyoune “confirms that the present and future of the Southern provinces can only be built within the framework of Morocco’s sovereignty” over its Sahara, pointing out that this development “is not the policy of one government or one period, but rather that of the French Republic”.

“Our friendship has sometimes helped us brave difficulties, but it remains open on the present and the future”, he insisted, referring to the prospects for relations between the two countries, notably with the 50th session of the French-speaking parliamentary forum, bringing together more than 50 countries, where ‘Morocco holds a special place’.