Crowds cheer Morocco’s King Mohammed VI (right), French President Hollande entering Casablanca. France has hailed Morocco and its leadership for embarking on reforms long before the Arab Spring, for backing France’s intervention in Mali, and looks to build on their win-win partnership. Reuters
**UPDATE: Click here for text of King Mohammed VI’s speech at official dinner honoring French President Hollande**
Europe Online/DPA and North Africa Post (Casablanca/Paris, April 3, 2013) — French President Francois Hollande arrived in Morocco on Wednesday for a two-day visit aimed at cementing ties between the ailing former colonial power and one of North Africa‘s most stable countries.
Crowds cheered King Mohammed VI and Hollande as they entered Casablanca, where facades and pavements had been painted white, on their way from the city‘s airport.
The two heads of state were then due to preside over a ceremony at which 29 cooperation agreements would be signed in sectors including high-speed trains, renewable energy, women‘s rights and the financial sector.
Hollande, who is on a drive to win business for his country‘s beleaguered industrial sector, was accompanied by dozens of company bosses, who will be scouting for deals in the transport, food, energy and water treatment sectors.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and French President Francois Hollande honored in Casablanca, as the French leader and his delegation begin a two-day state visit in Morocco. Reuters
France is the top source of foreign investment in Morocco, but slipped to second place behind Spain last year in terms of its exports to the country.
The French government, which is pushing “economic diplomacy”, has said it does not expect any huge contracts to be signed during the visit, which will focus instead on opportunities from existing projects, such as a new French-designed tram line in Casablanca.
On Thursday, Hollande was due to hold talks in the capital Rabat with Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and leaders in the two chambers of the Moroccan parliament, which is convening an extraordinary session for the occasion.
In an address to parliament, the French leader will praise Morocco as being “headed in the right direction, in a context where the Arab Spring offers lots of potential but also presents risks,” presidential sources said.
The king defused pro-democracy protests in 2011 by reforming the constitution to give more power to parliament and holding elections that were won by Benkirane‘s Party of Justice and Development.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI talks with French President Francois Hollande in Casablanca at the beginning of the French President’s two-day state visit in Morocco. Reuters
At the political level, talks between the two heads of state will cover a large array of issues on which the two countries have converging viewpoints, starting with struggle against terrorism and the proliferation of al-Qaeda affiliated groups in the Sahara-Sahel region where France took the lead when it intervened in Mali to dislodge the extremists and separatists.
President Holland will undoubtedly hail Morocco and its king for their stand on Mali and their support to the French intervention.
The political agenda talks will also cover Syria, the Palestinian issue, and the Middle East peace process in addition to the situation in the Maghreb and in the Arab world at large in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions. France has repeatedly hailed the way Morocco and its leadership have embarked on a reform process long before the first sparks of the Arab Spring.
Economic partnership will also figure high on the talks agenda, France being more eager than ever to maintain its rank as Morocco’s first partner in the region, especially after Spain narrowly overtook France in 2012 as a leading exporter to the North African Country.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and French President Francois Hollande greet a large crowd in Casablanca at the beginning of the French President’s two-day state visit in Morocco. Reuters
The President and his large accompanying delegation, including some 9 cabinet members, scores of heads of enterprises and economic operators, seem more determined than ever to “re-invent” the French-Moroccan partnership that has always been a win-win partnership, and to strengthen the pillars of the two countries’ economic cooperation.
Around 750 French companies are operating in Morocco, employing between 80,000 and 100,000 people. “We are Morocco’s largest trading partner, largest investor, and we will spare no effort to maintain our rank,” insisted a source close to the French Presidency.
