On Thursday, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe declared development in Africa, economic ties with Morocco, and youth education the three principal priorities of the current Morocco-France partnership. He was commenting on the numerous ways the two nations can support economic breakthroughs in Africa as the 13th France-Morocco High Level Meeting came to an end in Rabat. Philippe called Morocco a “historic ally.”

During the meetings, co-chaired by Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani, Philippe called for developing exchanges in order to make Morocco a “platform” for common development towards Africa, which he called a “land of opportunity” and “the continent of the future,” as reported by the French Press Agency (AFP).

Philippe said there is a need for a “new step” of partnership between the two historic allies to “promote the emergence of new players” in Morocco to compete “on a continent marked by strong economic and demographic growth.”

He also said “Morocco’s African ambition is remarkable,” noting that France and Morocco have much to gain by acting together in regards to development—economic and social—on the African continent.

Despite the presence of over 800 subsidiaries of French companies located in Morocco, “the French market shares are eroding,” said Philippe. He invited “French companies to enhance their presence in the Moroccan platform”.

His Moroccan counterpart, Saad Eddine El Otmani, recalled that Morocco wants to become “the pole of excellence of the African continent.” He called for “more cooperation to invest in Africa.”

One of the major themes of the visit concerned youth and education. The two counterparts agreed to establish Franco-Moroccan cooperation for the training of teachers, the development of French-speaking international sections, and greater support for the teaching of Arabic in French schools in Morocco and vice versa.

In terms of fighting terrorism, joint action and cooperation between France and Morocco is “strong” and “important”, said Philippe. He said “the work undertaken by French and Moroccan security services is carried out under excellent conditions because we are fully aware that we must fight together against an enemy who, in many ways, is a common enemy.”

Several agreements in various sectors were signed at the end of the three-day meeting.