Morocco Set to Acquire 18 Caracal Helicopters During Macron’s State Visit

The signing of this contract should take place during the France-Morocco business conference to be held on Tuesday in Rabat, as part of the French president’s two-day state visit. In addition to the order for 18 Caracal tactical transport helicopters (12 for the air force and 6 for the Royal Gendarmerie), Morocco could also sign a contract with Airbus Commercial Aircraft for the sale of A220 and A320 aircraft to Royal Air Maroc (RAM), reports La Tribune.

President Emmanuel Macron will start his state visit to Morocco on Monday with a tête-à-tête with King Mohammed VI, followed by a ceremony to sign agreements in the energy, water, education and domestic security sectors. France also wants to participate in the infrastructure projects planned for the organization of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, the French media specifies.

Paris wants to position itself "in support of the new development models set by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which includes a roadmap in terms of urban mobility, in terms of desalination and response to water stress, and in terms of renewable energies that offer many partnership opportunities both between governments and for our companies," says the Élysée.

Despite the tense relations in recent years between the two countries, Paris has maintained good economic relations with Rabat. Franco-Moroccan trade has doubled in 10 years, reaching 14 billion euros in 2023. France remains the leading foreign investor in Morocco, the leading provider of tourism revenues (2.9 billion euros in 2022) and the leading country of origin for remittances from Moroccans residing abroad - MRE (3.3 billion euros in 2022) to Morocco.