“Over the years, I've been lucky to observe Morocco's impressive efforts and achievements in Africa. It's a policy that has come a long way, that has borne fruit and is still bearing fruit, and not just in the Sahel region. It goes far beyond that, and I think there are considerable avenues to be explored here,” the French expert told MAP.

“I believe that France and Morocco are destined to be pillars of a stronger continental relationship,” the IFRI President said, expressing his “profound" delight at the warming of bilateral relations and ‘this shared desire to put the relationship between France and Morocco back on track from which it should never have strayed.”

He said that the current geopolitical context requires us “to work together, because we are also jointly responsible for the sustainability and solidity of our partnership.”

“I am of the ardent opinion that this renewed partnership must be a permanent, long-term one,” the French expert noted.

He added that the two countries are now in a position to strengthen their partnership in terms of regional security, where “we have manifestly common interests and complementarities,” pointing out that Africa's security necessarily depends on economic and social development, “areas in which the two countries can work together.”

The IFRI President also expressed his admiration for Morocco's cultural roots.

“What I admire so much about you is this Moroccan-ness that is a real strength of your country,” he stressed, adding that Moroccan culture has also left its mark on France and enriched its diversity.