HIBAPRESS
A significant delegation representing the three regions of the southern provinces of the Kingdom, Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, Guelmim-Oued Noun, and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, held a meeting with members of the French-Moroccan Friendship Group at the Senate in Paris yesterday evening, Tuesday.
In a welcoming speech, Senator Olivier Cadic, Vice-President of the French-Moroccan Friendship Group, expressed the group's pleasure in receiving representatives of the southern provinces of the Kingdom within the Senate, stressing the French council's commitment to establishing "a close relationship with Morocco" and its firm support for the Kingdom's sovereignty over its Sahara. Cadic mentioned that only a month ago, the council hosted a major event organized in partnership with the Kingdom's embassy in Paris on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Green March, describing the event as "an exceptional moment to celebrate French-Moroccan friendship within the halls of the Luxembourg Palace," referring to the Senate's celebration of the Kingdom following the historic decision of the Security Council on the Moroccan Sahara. He also recalled the visit of the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, to Laayoune last February, confirming to the members of the Moroccan delegation the French legislative institution's readiness "to work together to strengthen relations, especially within the framework of decentralized cooperation." Cadic praised "the exceptional work carried out by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to develop the southern provinces," noting that the volume of investments there is "enormous and includes diverse fields from economic development and renewable energies to higher education and health." He said, "These are all opportunities to launch concrete projects that we can work on together." The Moroccan delegation, led by Laila Hamouchi, a local public facilities manager at the General Directorate of Local Authorities at the Ministry of Interior, included the president of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, Mbarka Bouaida, who also chairs the Association of Regions of Morocco, the president of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Ynja El Khatat, and the representative of the president of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, M'hamed Aba. At the end of the meeting, members of the French Senate and the Moroccan delegation expressed their satisfaction with the quality of the discussions in statements to the Moroccan News Agency, with a view to strengthening bilateral relations, especially decentralized cooperation between the Moroccan regions and their French counterparts. In this context, Senator Catherine Morin-Desailly confirmed that "France and Morocco, due to their proximity, benefit from working together by enabling the regions to develop bilateral cooperation that exploits the strengths of both parties, encourages mutual investments, and facilitates the movement of students and artists, considering culture as a bridge to strengthen rapprochement between peoples," adding that "a meeting of this kind reaffirms the need for cooperation and the identification of areas of partnership." For her part, Bouaida highlighted that "this visit was an opportunity to present the advanced regionalization project in the southern provinces, as well as the economic and social dynamics they are experiencing under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King. She added that the meeting also allowed for exploring ways to develop cooperation between the regions of Morocco and the senators representing the French regions within the Senate." El Khatat considered that the visit of the delegation from the southern provinces "reflects the importance and strength of relations between Morocco and France," pointing out that it provided an opportunity to present the qualifications of the three regions and discuss ways to enhance cooperation within the framework of a win-win principle. For his part, Aba confirmed that the meeting with members of the French Senate was an opportunity "to exchange views on investment opportunities and decentralized cooperation, in support of the rise of the regional development model for the southern provinces." On the sidelines of this meeting at the Senate, the Moroccan delegation held a meeting with the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot. The delegation also met, on Wednesday, with the French National Assembly, the president of the French-Moroccan Friendship Group, Hélène Laporte.
