The president of the Institut du monde arabe (IMA), Anne-Claire Legendre, will embark on an official six-day visit to Morocco from June 19 to 24, 2026, at the invitation of Moroccan Youth, Culture and Communication Minister Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid. This marks her first official trip to the Kingdom since assuming leadership of the Paris-based institution in February 2026.
The visit aims to solidify a joint cultural roadmap between the IMA and Morocco, building on months of preliminary discussions. Legendre’s itinerary will include Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, where she will meet with Moroccan cultural officials, foundation leaders and creative industry stakeholders. A key focus will be advancing cooperation in emerging cultural sectors such as animation, comic arts, Arabic-language publishing and cinema.
This mission follows an earlier meeting in Paris, where Legendre and Bensaid first outlined shared priorities during a working session at the IMA headquarters. The Moroccan minister, making his first visit to the institution under her leadership, emphasized the alignment of these efforts with the broader momentum in France-Morocco relations, particularly since the state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron last year.
Since taking office on February 17, 2026—becoming the first woman to lead the IMA in its 46-year history—Legendre has prioritized strengthening ties between the Arab world and Europe. Prior to her appointment, she served as presidential advisor for North Africa and the Middle East, a role she left to helm the institute.
The IMA itself was established in 1980 under the auspices of the Arab League, with Morocco among the 19 Arab states that contributed to its founding alongside France. Designed as a cultural bridge between Europe and the Arab world, the institution has since played a pivotal role in fostering dialogue and exchange.
Beyond the IMA’s agenda, Legendre’s visit reflects a broader trend of deepening Moroccan-French collaboration in the arts. Earlier this year, she met with Mehdi Qotbi, president of Morocco’s National Museums Foundation, to explore partnership opportunities within the framework of the ‘Enhanced Exceptional Partnership’ between the two nations, driven by King Mohammed VI and President Macron.
The upcoming visit is expected to translate these diplomatic exchanges into concrete initiatives on Moroccan soil, further cementing cultural cooperation between the two countries.
