French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu arrives in Rabat on Thursday leading a twelve-member ministerial delegation to attend the 15th High-Level Meeting (RHN) between France and Morocco, a pivotal event poised to reinvigorate the strategic partnership between the two nations.
The delegation features a cross-ministerial team including Laurent Nunez (Interior), Catherine Vautrin (Armed Forces and Veterans), Roland Lescure (Economy, Finance and 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), along with junior ministers Anne Le Hénanff (Artificial Intelligence and Digital), Nicolas Forissier (Foreign Trade and Attractiveness) and Éléonore Caroit (Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Abroad).
Senator Christian Cambon, chair of the France-Morocco Friendship Group in the Senate, and MP Karim Ben Cheikh are also part of the delegation and are scheduled to meet the presidents of both chambers of the Moroccan Parliament.
Advancing a strengthened partnership
Hosted at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the presence of both heads of government, the 15th RHN marks the resumption of a bilateral dialogue mechanism established in 1997, with the previous session held in Paris in December 2019.
This gathering follows the ‘enhanced exceptional partnership’ agreed in October 2024 between King Mohammed VI and President Emmanuel Macron. Its objective is to assess ongoing projects and chart new priorities for bilateral cooperation.
Discussions will cover critical areas such as internal security, combating irregular migration, organized crime, drug trafficking, cultural exchange, agriculture, infrastructure, water management, public sector modernization, artificial intelligence, defense industries, and preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Economic initiatives already underway include the expansion of Safran Electronics & Defense’s industrial site and Alstom’s new production facility launch in Fès.
The agenda includes bilateral talks between the two prime ministers, sectoral ministerial meetings, a plenary session on shared priorities, and a concluding synthesis presented by the foreign ministers.
The summit is expected to culminate in the signing of around fifteen agreements across key sectors, including decentralized cooperation, the Rabat Regional Express Rail (RER), water resource management, development of the Casablanca-Settat region, civil aviation, film industry collaboration, artist residencies, and the inclusion of Arabic language and history-geography in the French education curriculum.
This meeting also represents a significant milestone in preparing for a future Franco-Moroccan bilateral treaty, designed to solidify long-term collaboration ahead of King Mohammed VI’s upcoming state visit to France.
