Christophe Lecourtier, the new French Ambassador to Morocco arrived in Rabat on Monday as the French embassy’s team gathered to welcome his arrival.
«After 5 years as CEO of Business France, my mandate is coming to an end. President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna have appointed me Ambassador of the French Republic to the Kingdom of Morocco,» tweeted Christophe Lecourtier.
Before taking over this position officially on December 16, the ambassador worked as a general director of Business France, a company that supports companies in their export and international expansion projects.
Lecourtier was previously France’s ambassador to Australia, which he first took over in July 2014.
According to the press and information service of the French embassy, Lecourtier was knowledgeable about the area because he previously served as Head of the External Relations Sector in charge of Continental Asia in the External Economic Relations Division of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry.
Lecourtier spent a considerable amount of time working for the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry as an advisor in charge of foreign trade.
The announcement came after the reception of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Catherine Colonna by the Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
A diplomatic move meant to smooth relations between the two nations, and comes before a planned visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the Kingdom early next year.
France announced last year it would reduce the number of visas for Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan nationals.
The French government took this decision after the North African countries’ allegedly “refused to provide consular documents for their citizens being deported from France after arriving illegally.”
Nasser Bourita said the decision to normalize relations “goes in the right direction,” after tensions generated by the visa issues.
The counterparts explained the importance of the mutual relationship between the two nations, as they are major economic, education, and security partners, sharing the same views regarding many international issues in Africa and the Middle East.
Another indicator of the relations moving in a forward momentum, is Speaker of the House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami’s talks on Monday in Rabat with chairman of the Committee on National Defense and Armed Forces at the French National Assembly, Thomas Gassilloud, currently on a working visit to Morocco.
Discussions between the two parties focused on strengthening parliamentary cooperation between the legislative institutions of the two countries, as well as some international and regional issues of common interest, said a statement by the House of Representatives.
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