En the sidelines of the biannual seminar of consuls general, organized by Morocco and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom in France, senior officials from the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, including the co-presidents of the Permanent Joint Migration Group Morocco- France (GMMP), held an unprecedented meeting on Friday at the Chancellery, at the invitation of the Kingdom of Morocco.
According to a joint press release, made public at the end of this meeting, the French party was composed of Simon Fetet, director of Immigration at the Ministry of the Interior, co-president of the GMMP, Mathilde Grammont, diplomatic advisor to the Minister of the Interior, Frédéric Rimoux, deputy to the ambassador in charge of Migration at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Delphine Montuelle, head of the Removal division at the Immigration Department.
The Moroccan party was composed of Khalid Zerouali, director of Migration and Border Surveillance at the Ministry of the Interior, co-president of the GMMP, Bouchta Fahli, director of General Intelligence at the General Directorate of National Security, Fouad Kadmiri , Director of Consular and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, and Samira Sitaïl, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to France.
This meeting focused mainly on cooperation in matters of readmission and prevention of departures as well as points for improvement likely to facilitate cooperation in the issuance of consular passes (LPC), documents required for the execution obligations to leave French territory (OQTF).
At the end of this meeting, which is a continuation of that held on October 3 in Marrakech by the GMMP, the French side took part in an exchange with the 17 consuls general of Morocco deployed on French territory ( Paris, Orly, Pontoise, Villemomble, Mantes la Jolie, Colombes, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes, Orléans, Dijon, Strasbourg and Bastia).
This session, which lasted 2 hours, allowed a direct feedback of information and high-quality exchanges between the consuls general of Morocco and the representatives of the French side.
This sequence, made up of questions and answers between the two parties, is intended to strengthen the entire migratory cooperation system between Morocco and France, in which consular action is central.
This innovative approach, notes the press release, is intended to respond to the desire expressed by the two heads of state, His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, during the state visit which was held from October 28 to 30 in Rabat.
It is, in fact, as stated in the Joint Declaration on the Reinforced Exceptional Partnership signed on October 28, 2024 by the two heads of state, of “building a global agenda on migration, including both the facilitation of legal mobility, the fight against irregular immigration, and cooperation in matters of readmission and prevention of departures, as well as the strengthening of coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination, based on the principle of shared responsibility.
This meeting, adds the joint press release, is also part of the continuity of exchanges between Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of the Interior, and his French counterpart, Bruno Retailleau, who had held a working session on the sidelines of the State visit of the French President in Rabat on October 29.
At the end of this meeting, the two parties welcomed the quality of exemplary migration cooperation between Morocco and France, as evidenced by the improvement in indicators relating to readmission, just as they praised the role both prefects and consuls general which is at the heart of the strategy and vision put in place within the framework of the GMMP.
Thus, both parties agree that the prefects and consuls general promote the most direct contact possible which will improve cooperation between the two parties.
The Moroccan side praised the efforts made by France to strengthen legal mobility, in particular that of students.
Likewise, it notes with satisfaction the positive development in visa granting rates.
The protection of the rights of the Moroccan diaspora living in France, a pillar of human, cultural and economic relations between the two countries, was also at the center of the exchanges.
For its part, the French side welcomed Morocco’s efforts in managing migratory flows and noted that this cooperation was improving.
Finally, the French side thanks Morocco for organizing this meeting, making it possible to deploy the strategy desired by France and Morocco in terms of migration cooperation.
It will be the subject of an evaluation at the next GMMP meeting which will be held in France in the first quarter of 2025.
As a reminder, the GMMP was created in May 2018, the date on which its first edition took place in Marrakech.
