French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu landed in Rabat Wednesday evening, greeted by his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch, to advance bilateral relations ahead of a potential state 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 was welcomed at the airport with military honors around 10 p.m. by the Moroccan Prime Minister and several government officials.

The French premier had just visited Qatar to convey France’s condolences following the passing of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Aziz Akhannouch had also traveled to Doha to represent Morocco’s condolences.

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

The French president was subsequently accorded a grand reception in Rabat in October of that year, ending three years of strained ties. The visit culminated in multiple agreements and the signing of an ‘exceptional enhanced partnership’.

In a message to Emmanuel Macron on Bastille Day, King Mohammed VI highlighted the ‘strengthening’ of the ‘privileged relations’ between the two nations, according to the official Moroccan news agency MAP.

This partnership may lead to a state visit by Mohammed VI to France, the principle of which has been agreed upon though the date remains undecided.

The two prime ministers will commence Thursday’s agenda at the royal mausoleum before holding bilateral talks where each minister will meet their counterpart.

Fifteen agreements set to be signed

They will co-chair a 15th ‘high-level meeting’ between their delegations, a dialogue forum that has not convened since 2019. The session is expected to yield about fifteen agreements spanning economic, security, migration, and defense sectors, a diplomatic source revealed.

Key initiatives include a civil aviation accord, the launch of a Rabat regional express rail line, water resource cooperation, and plans for an electrical interconnection project between the two countries, according to the same source.

Defense collaboration discussions are underway regarding arms procurement partnerships. Culturally, the countries are poised to sign a ‘strategic partnership agreement’ between the Arab World Institute in Paris and Morocco’s Ministry of Culture.

Morocco has become France’s top priority in the Maghreb, with Paris no longer prioritizing balance with Algiers at all costs.

On the sensitive Sahel security file, France appears increasingly reliant on Morocco as Algeria remains reluctant to share intelligence, despite the resumption of Franco-Algerian cooperation.