Skip to main content

France, Morocco resolve visa face-off after W’Cup clash

 France and Morocco announced Friday they were mending fences after months of tension over visas, and said President Emmanuel Macron would visit the North African kingdom in early 2023.

Speaking in Rabat alongside her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said it was time to “write a new page together.”

The two countries have been at loggerheads since September 2021, when Paris halved its visa quota for Moroccans in retaliation for the kingdom’s alleged refusal to repatriate citizens living as irregular migrants in France.

The move sparked widespread public anger in Morocco and was labelled as “unjustified” by Rabat.

But Colonna said the countries had returned to “full consular cooperation” since Monday.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin was expected to arrive in Morocco’s neighbour and arch-rival Algeria on Friday to discuss similar visa issues.

Macron and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI spoke by phone on Wednesday night after their countries’ dramatic World Cup semi-final clash in Qatar which France won 2-0.

Asked about the spiky issue of the Western Sahara, the two ministers played down any tensions.

Morocco sees the desert region as part of its territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario movement seeks an independent state.

King Mohammed reiterated in August that “the Sahara issue is the prism through which Morocco views its international environment”, demanding that governments “clarify” their position on the subject.

But Colonna said Friday that the kingdom could “count on France’s backing.”

Bourita added that Morocco had “never seen France’s position (on the Western Sahara) as negative.”

France, Morocco resolve visa face-off after W'Cup clash (punchng.com)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FIVE (5) STEPS OF INVESTMENT PLAN FOR SMALL AND LARGE ENTERPRISES

   A well calculated investment plan is an important tool to help you reach your financial milestones . Investment planning is very important to succeed in your investing journey. Creating a viable investment plan shouldn’t be ignored before you decide to invest your money even though it requires a little more than simply establishing a savings account and buying a few random shares of stocks , it still prepare s you for the normal ups and downs of the market and take advantage of opportunities as th ey arise. Here are few essential steps to guide you invest wisely:         Step One The first step in making an investment plan for the future is to define your present financial situation. You need to figure out how much money you have to invest. You can do this by making a budget to evaluate your monthly disposable income after expenses and emergency savings. This will allow you to determine how much you can reasonably afford to invest. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Augustine Eguavoen Did A Fine Job As Super Eagles Coach

  By now it is no news to any Nigerian sports fan, that Augustin Eguavoen and his entire team have been relieved of their duties at the helm of affairs of the Nigerian National team. Most Nigerians are happy with this development, with some claiming that his immediate predecessor, Gernot Rohr would have delivered better results. However, a simple analysis of events will clearly demonstrate that Eguavoen did a fine enough job given the circumstances. I will attempt to undertake this analysis by demonstrating, first that Eguavoen has a better record than one might realize, and secondly by comparing the performance of his Super Eagles with that of Afcon winners, Senegal, and runners-up Egypt. When Gernot Rohr was sacked a few weeks to the Afcon, knowledgeable sportspersons decried the move, citing the difficulty any new coach would face in setting up the team to play to his own patterns. In analyzing Eguavoen, therefore, it must first be understood that the new boss was operating unde...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diabetes: Neediness, obliviousness sending Nigerians to early grave - Specialists

 There is no refuting that the significant expense of diabetes treatment in Nigeria has prompted an expansion in the awkward and unnecessary passing of people living with the illness as of late. The expense of medications and examination of diabetes have represented an extraordinary test as more than two third of the number of inhabitants in the patients can't bear to purchase the medications and check themselves consistently which most times prompted confusions and, in some cases, passings. This was the situation of Racheal Utom, a 38-year-old woman who lost her passed on appendage to type 2 diabetes and was nearly losing the right a year later, because of her failure to stringently buy her medications and lead her examinations. Mrs Utom, who is engaging with diabetes mellitus, said the specialist told her a month prior that her five toes have been contaminated and right now rotted, yet they were making an effort not to remove the excess appendage. Utom, who uncovered that there w...
Post a Comment
Read more