Paris: The biannual seminar of Morocco’s Consuls General in France highlighted on Friday in Paris the excellence of Moroccan-French cooperation. Organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Paris, the seminar brought together the 17 Moroccan Consuls General serving across France, including those based in Paris, Orly, Pontoise, Villemomble, Mantes-la-Jolie, Colombes, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes, Orl©ans, Dijon, Strasbourg, and Bastia.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the event was attended by Morocco’s Ambassador to France, Samira Sital, the Wali Director of Migration and Border Surveillance at Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior, Khalid Zerouali, his French counterpart Fr©d©ric Joram, and the Prefect for Immigration at the Paris Police Prefecture, Mirielle Larrede. Opening the seminar, Ambassador Sital emphasized that this gathering, now a well-established tradition, provides an opportunity to discuss various issues related to the daily work of consuls.
She also placed these discussions within the framework of preparations for the upcoming Morocco-France High Joint Commission, scheduled to be held in Rabat, as well as the renewed momentum in bilateral relations since French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco at the invitation of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. Sital stressed the importance of maintaining such meetings to overcome challenges “in a spirit of mutual support and solidarity,” with the aim of enhancing Morocco’s image and defending the interests of both the Kingdom and Moroccan citizens living in France.
Highlighting the exemplary model of Morocco-France cooperation in migration matters, particularly through the Permanent Joint Moroccan-French Migration Group (GMMP), Fr©d©ric Joram described it as “a highly structured, dynamic and operational framework.” Backing his remarks with figures, the French official praised the positive migration dynamic of the Moroccan community in France, notably the large number of Moroccan students excelling in French institutions, especially engineering schools.
He also pointed out that Moroccans rank first among foreign nationals benefiting from France’s “Talent” residence permits, a mechanism introduced to attract highly qualified professionals. Joram further welcomed the high level of cooperation with Morocco in combating illegal immigration and praised “the quality of the relationship” maintained between Moroccan Consuls General and French prefectures. “Prefectures regularly express their overall satisfaction with the relationship they have with you, both at the level of prefects and your services,” he said.
In a statement to MAP, Director of Consular and Social Affairs, Fouad Kadmiri, welcomed the “fruitful” discussions aimed at further improving migration cooperation between Morocco and France. He emphasized the importance of strengthening the central pillar of this cooperation, the Consul-Prefect partnership, through the implementation of recommendations issued by the Permanent Joint Moroccan-French Migration Group and through joint missions organized by both sides to facilitate exchanges in service of “this exceptional migration cooperation relationship, which reflects the outstanding partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the French Republic.”
Speaking to MAP on the sidelines of the seminar, several Consuls General underlined the importance of the meeting as a platform for coordinating efforts to better address the concerns of the Moroccan community in France. “This is a very important event because it highlights progress in bilateral cooperation with France on issues of common interest. It also helps consolidate all the initiatives we undertake within the framework of the enhanced exceptional partnership between our two countries,” said Meriem Taleb, Morocco’s Consul General in Rennes.
For his part, Morocco’s Consul General in Orly, Brahim Rizqi, expressed his satisfaction at taking part in the seminar for the second time, describing it as “a framework for collective reflection” aimed at fostering cohesion and preserving the tradition of consultation within Morocco’s consular network in France. Similarly, Morocco’s Consul General in Toulouse, Manale El Bouchairi, said she was “very pleased” to participate in the seminar, which brings together all Moroccan consulates in France to exchange views on the concerns of the Moroccan community living in the country, including students, entrepreneurs, and employees.