Moroccan and French Foreign Ministers to Meet in Paris, Discuss Sahara and Regional Issues

Nasser Bourita is expected in Paris next Monday, reports the site Africa Intelligence. During this working visit, the Moroccan Foreign Minister and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian will hold a joint press conference. On the agenda: bilateral and regional issues, including the relaunch of negotiations on the Sahara, the Libyan transition and the Sahel.

The Sahara issue remains a concern for the two countries. "We expect [the new negotiations to be different from the previous ones in format: that each of the parties - Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, Mauritania - be placed on an equal footing with the others. Different, also, in the agenda: that there be more realism and compromise, less rhetoric. Certain things are not negotiable for Morocco, namely any solution that would call into question the territorial integrity of the kingdom," Nasser Bourita had declared during his various visits to Paris.

France is still expected on this file. In an interview with the site Arab News dated May 20, Hélène le Gal, French ambassador to Morocco, said that her country would not follow in the footsteps of the United States, which has recognized the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara. However, Paris supports the autonomy plan proposed by the Moroccan authorities.