PARIS – France will lift visa restrictions for Moroccan people, the foreign minister announced on Friday, signaling a thaw in relations between the two nations after more than a year of tensions.
“We’ve taken steps with our Moroccan allies to re-establish a consular contact,” Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after meeting with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Rabat on Friday.
Under pressure from public opinion, France declared this year that it will reduce the amount of visas granted to nationals of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia due to the North African countries’ refusal to return their residents living unlawfully in France.
It was unclear whether France had received anything in return from Morocco. Morocco’s Bourita claimed that France took a unilateral decision to withdraw the limitations following what he claimed was likewise a unilateral decision to impose the limits.
In general, France maintains friendlier relations with Morocco than with its eastern neighbor Algeria, which is also a former colony.
However, relations soured after media reports in the summer of 2021 stated that President Emmanuel Macron’s phone was on a list of potential targets for surveillance by Morocco using the Pegasus software. Morocco has refuted the accusation and stated that it does not own Pegasus.
The improvement in relations came just two days after France and Morocco met in the World Cup semifinals in Qatar. France won the match, highlighting the significant relations between the two countries and their dual nationals.
Source: Reuters