France is ready to invest alongside Morocco in Western Sahara, territory claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, declared French Minister of Foreign Trade Franck Riester, beginning a visit to Morocco on Thursday.
“We must ensure that we work together, we have common interests,” Franck Riester, who is on a two-day visit to Morocco, told journalists at the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Casablanca, saying he wanted work “on the rebound of the relationship”.
With @mohcine_jazouli, Minister of Investment, we share the desire to strengthen the economic link between our two countries.
🇫🇷 France is the leading investor in Morocco.
🇲🇦 Morocco is the leading African investor in France.
Let’s maintain this special relationship. pic.twitter.com/bMpe84UN7y
— Franck Riester (@franckriester) April 4, 2024
Recalling the visit to Rabat by Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné at the end of February, which aimed to warm up ties after a series of diplomatic crises, Franck Riester once again praised Morocco's “efforts in terms of investments in the Sahara” .
France, first foreign investor in Morocco
France is “ready to support these efforts”, he declared, indicating that Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AfD) dedicated to the private sector, could contribute to the financing of a high voltage line between Dakhla (southern Western Sahara) and Casablanca.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is controlled mainly by Morocco but claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria. The UN considers it a “non-self-governing territory”.
France is the leading foreign investor in Morocco and trade reached a record of 14 billion euros in 2023. In Rabat, Franck Riester met Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Mohcine Jazouli, Minister Delegate of Investment.