France’s Top MP Visits Morocco as Part of ‘Parliamentary Diplomacy’ Mission

Yael Braun Pivet, President of France’s National Assembly, is visiting Morocco as part of a three-day diplomatic mission mainly aiming to boost parliamentary cooperation between Paris and Rabat.

The mission is scheduled to run from December 11 to 13, the French National Assembly said earlier today in a press statement shared with Morocco World News (MWN).

Accompanying Pivet is a high-ranking parliamentary delegation consisting of Assembly Vice-President Naima Moutchou, and Chairman of the Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Bruno Fuchs, noted the statement.

During the visit, Braun Pivet will hold talks with senior officials, including Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch as well as the presidents of the Moroccan parliament’s two chambers, namely House of Representatives President Rachid Talbi Alami and House of Councillors President Mohamed Ould Errachid.

She will also hold meetings with stakeholders from different sectors, including civil society and economic operators.

“This visit is part of a highly favorable bilateral dynamic following the adoption of the Joint declaration on an enhanced exceptional partnership signed by his majesty King Mohammed VI and President Emmanuel Macron in Rabat in October,” the statement said.

The official’s agenda will include a meeting with Talbi Alami on Wednesday to sign a parliamentary cooperation protocol.

Thursday’s agenda will include a visit to the Mohammed V Mausoleum, a meeting with Akhannouch and a meeting with women from the French Moroccan business community.

On Friday, France’s top PM will conduct a field visit on the theme of protecting vulnerable women, attend a ceremony of a “parliamentary twinning” agreement between the Moroccan and French National Assemblies, and meet with Ould Errachid.

The visit comes as Paris and Rabat continue to signal their determination further cementing a rapidly improving and increasingly strategic partnership.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have vastly improved since France’s recent decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara region.

Visiting Rabat this past October, nearly two months after announcing his country’s historic embrace of Morocco’s stance on the Sahara dispute, Macron reaffirmed that the path laid out in the Moroccan Autonomy Plan is the only conceivable horizon for a lasting resolution of the Sahara dispute.

“Rooted in history, respectful of realities, and promising for the future, this position is what France will implement to support Morocco in international forums,” Macron told the Moroccan parliament. “And I also say here that this position is not hostile to anyone.”