French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu arrived in Rabat on Wednesday evening, greeted by his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch, for a visit aimed at deepening bilateral ties ahead of a potential visit by King Mohammed VI to Paris.

Accompanied by twelve ministers, including Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, Sébastien Lecornu received a ceremonial welcome at the airport around 10 PM, attended by the Moroccan Prime Minister and several government officials.

Lecornu arrived from Qatar, where he conveyed France’s condolences following the passing of former Emir Sheikh Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani. Aziz Akhannouch had also traveled to Doha to deliver Morocco’s condolences.

Franco-Moroccan relations have improved significantly since Emmanuel Macron recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory in the summer of 2024, a move that drew sharp criticism from Algiers.

President Macron was then accorded a grand welcome in Rabat in October of the same year, ending three years of diplomatic strain. The visit resulted in numerous contracts and the signing of a strengthened “exceptional partnership.”

In a message to Emmanuel Macron for France’s Bastille Day celebrations, the Moroccan King praised the “consolidation” of the “privileged relations” between the two nations, according to Morocco’s official news agency MAP.

Fifteen agreements to be signed

Lecornu and Akhannouch will begin Thursday with a visit to the royal mausoleum, followed by a bilateral meeting where each minister will meet their counterpart.

The two leaders will then preside over the 15th “high-level meeting” between their delegations, a dialogue forum that has not convened since 2019. This gathering will lead to the signing of around fifteen agreements spanning economic, security, migration, and defense sectors, according to diplomatic sources.

The agreements will cover areas such as civil aviation, the creation of a Regional Express Network (RER) line in Rabat, water partnerships, and a cross-border electricity interconnection project, the sources added.

In defense, Paris and Rabat are exploring potential arms cooperation. Culturally, the two countries are set to sign a “strategic partnership agreement” between the Arab World Institute in Paris and Morocco’s Ministry of Culture.

Morocco has become a priority for French diplomacy in the Maghreb, with Paris no longer seeking to maintain a balanced relationship with Algiers at all costs.

On the sensitive Sahel security dossier, France appears to be placing greater reliance on its Moroccan partner, as Algiers remains reluctant to share intelligence, despite the resumption of Franco-Algerian cooperation.