France is ready to invest alongside Morocco in Western Sahara, territory claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, declared Thursday April 4 the French Minister for Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, who is on a two-day visit to Morocco.
“We must ensure that we work together, we have common interests,” he told journalists at the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Casablanca, saying he wanted to work “on the rebound of the relationship.”
Recalling the visit to Rabat by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, at the end of February, which aimed to warm up ties after a series of diplomatic crises, Franck Riester once again praised Morocco’s “efforts in terms of investment in the Sahara”.
France “ready to support these efforts”
France is “ready to support these efforts”, he declared, indicating that Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AfD) dedicated to the private sector, could contribute to the financing of a high voltage line between Dakhla (southern Western Sahara) and Casablanca.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is controlled mainly by Morocco but claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria. The UN considers it a “non-self-governing territory”.
France is the leading foreign investor in Morocco and trade reached a record of 14 billion euros in 2023. In Rabat, Franck Riester met Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Mohcine Jazouli, Minister Delegate of Investment.