French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu arrived in Rabat today at the helm of a twelve-member ministerial delegation for the 15th Franco-Moroccan High-Level Meeting (HLM), a pivotal event set to revitalize the strategic partnership between France and Morocco.
The delegation features key figures from the French government: Laurent Nunez (Interior), Catherine Vautrin (Armed Forces and Veterans), Roland Lescure (Economy, Finance, Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty), Annie Genevard (Agriculture), Jean-Noël Barrot (Europe and Foreign Affairs), Naïma Moutchou (Overseas Territories), Catherine Pégard (Culture), Philippe Tabarot (Transport), Sabrina Roubache (Vocational Training), Anne Le Hénanff (Artificial Intelligence and Digital), Nicolas Forissier (Foreign Trade and Attractivity), and Éléonore Caroit (Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Abroad).
Senator Christian Cambon, Chair of the France-Morocco Friendship Group in the Senate, and Deputy Karim Ben Cheikh will join the delegation, with planned meetings with leaders of Morocco’s parliamentary chambers.
Strengthening bilateral ties through shared priorities
The 15th HLM, held at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, marks the resumption of this high-level dialogue mechanism established in 1997. The last session took place in Paris in December 2019.
This meeting follows the signing of a reinforced exceptional partnership between King Mohammed VI and President Emmanuel Macron in October 2024. The agenda includes reviewing ongoing projects and charting new priorities for bilateral cooperation.
The discussions will cover critical areas such as internal security, combating irregular migration, organized crime, drug trafficking, cultural exchanges, agriculture, infrastructure, water management, public sector modernization, artificial intelligence, defense industries, and preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Economic cooperation is already yielding tangible results, including the expansion of Safran Electronics & Defense’s industrial site and Alstom’s new production facility launch in Fès.
The program includes bilateral talks between the two Prime Ministers, sector-specific ministerial meetings, a plenary session on shared priorities, and a closing summary presented by the Foreign Affairs ministers.
The summit is expected to conclude with the signing of approximately fifteen agreements across strategic sectors, including decentralized cooperation, Rabat’s Regional Express Rail (RER), water resources, development of the Casablanca-Settat region, civil aviation, cinema, artist residencies, and Arabic language and history-geography education within France’s school network.
This gathering also serves as a key milestone in preparing a future Franco-Moroccan bilateral treaty, designed to solidify long-term collaboration ahead of King Mohammed VI’s upcoming state visit to France.
