RABAT: France and Morocco reached agreements on Monday totalling “up to ten billion euros ($10.82 billion),” sources with direct knowledge to the matter told AFP, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to Morocco aiming to mend strained relations.
Several deals were signed in the presence of Macron and King Mohammed VI, with more expected on Tuesday, including on energy and infrastructure.
Macron’s trip was at the king’s invitation late in September, but also follows years of tense ties with Rabat.
A delegation of French ministers and business leaders accompanied Macron, while French and Moroccan flags flew alongside each other in the city’s main thoroughfares.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, Economy Minister Antoine Armand and Culture Minister Rachida Dati — herself of Moroccan origin — all traveled with the president.
Though specific contract details were not disclosed, French rail manufacturer Alstom is set to supply up to 18 high-speed train cars to Morocco according to the deals signed on Monday.
Energy company Engie and the Moroccan Phosphates Office meanwhile signed a renewables agreement with potential investments reaching up to 3.5 billion euros, according to AFP reporters.
France’s TotalEnergies also inked a deal to develop “green hydrogen” production in the north African country.
Macron’s visit follows years of strained relations between Paris and Rabat over a range of issues.
Those include France’s ambiguous stance on the disputed Western Sahara region and Macron’s quest for rapprochement with Algeria.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which in 2020 declared a “self-defense war” and seeks the territory’s independence.
It is considered by the United Nations to be a “non-self-governing territory.”
Rabat and Paris have also been at odds after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it granted to Moroccans.
In July, Macron eased tensions by saying Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory was the “only basis” to resolve the decades-old conflict.
France’s diplomatic turnabout had been awaited by Morocco, whose annexation of Western Sahara had already been recognized by the United States in return for Rabat normalizing ties with Israel in 2020.
Monday’s visit also comes after Macron’s rapprochement efforts with Algeria appear to have hit a dead end.
A state visit to Paris by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was rescheduled multiple times before being called off by Algiers earlier this month.
After Macron endorsed Morocco’s autonomy plan, Algeria promptly withdrew its ambassador to Paris and has yet to send a replacement.
France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit
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France, Morocco sign $10.82 billion in deals during Macron’s reset visit
Philippines eyes closer cooperation on advanced defense tech with UAE
- Philippine-UAE defense agreement is Manila’s first with a Gulf country
- Philippines says new deal will also help modernize the Philippine military
MANILA: The Philippines is seeking stronger cooperation with the UAE on advanced defense technologies under their new defense pact — its first such deal with a Gulf country — the Department of National Defense said on Friday.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation was signed during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this week, which also saw the Philippines and the UAE signing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, marking Manila’s first free trade pact with a Middle Eastern nation.
The Philippines-UAE defense agreement “seeks to deepen cooperation on advanced defense technologies and strengthen the security relations” between the two countries, DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said in a statement.
The MoU “will serve as a platform for collaboration on unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare, and naval systems, in line with the ongoing capability development and modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he added.
It is also expected to further military relations through education and training, intelligence and security sharing, and cooperation in the fields of anti-terrorism, maritime security, and peacekeeping operations.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described security and defense as “very promising fields” in Philippine-UAE ties, pointing to Abu Dhabi being the location of Manila’s first defense attache office in the Middle East.
The UAE is the latest in a growing list of countries with defense and security deals with the Philippines, which also signed a new defense pact with Japan this week.
“I would argue that this is more significant than it looks on first read, precisely because it’s the Philippines’ first formal defense cooperation agreement with a Gulf state. It signals diversification,” Rikard Jalkebro, associate professor at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, told Arab News.
“Manila is widening its security partnerships beyond its traditional circles at a time when strategic pressure is rising in the South China Sea, and the global security environment is (volatile) across regions.”
Though the MoU is not an alliance and does not create mutual defense obligations, it provides a “framework for the practical stuff that matters,” including access, training pathways, procurement discussions and structured channels” for security cooperation, he added.
“For the UAE, the timing also makes sense, seeing that Abu Dhabi is no longer only a defense buyer; it’s increasingly a producer and exporter, particularly in areas like UAS (unmanned aerial systems) and enabling technologies. That opens a new lane for Manila to explore capability-building, technology transfer, and industry-to-industry links,” Jalkebro said.
The defense deal also matters geopolitically, as events in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region have ripple effects on global stability and commerce.
“So, a Philippines–UAE defense framework can be read as a pragmatic hedge, strengthening resilience and options without formally taking sides,” Jalkebro said.
