Doha – Morocco and France signed a joint explanation on Monday to strengthen their judicial and legal cooperation and to concentrate on fighting terrorism and organized crimes as part of their strategic partnership.
The meeting offered the opportunity to carry out a detailed review of progress in the legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries and to examine future prospects for the cooperation.
Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi and his French counterpart Gérald Darmanin sealed The agreement in Rabat, which builds on the action plan signed in May 2024.
The ministers emphasized the strategic importance of efforts to combat terrorism and recognized them both nationally and internationally as an important threat that has a strong impact that sovereignty, security, economy, environment and development of both nations.
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to coping with contemporary challenges, including the facilitation of the legal proceedings for Moroccan residents in France, especially with regard to personal status and family rights.
“A deep friendship and a new partnership”
Morocco has developed as an important reference to fighting terrorism and recently dismantled a large Daesh cell that will work in nine cities in February. The OperationLed by BCIJ and DGST, arrested twelve suspects and discovered a sophisticated weapon cache.
Since 2002 Morocco has reduced over 200 terrorist cells with Sahel-Sahara, Syria and Iraqi networks.
“This visit leads to a deep friendship and a new and reinforced partnership between our two countries, which is associated with a common history, a mutual commitment and the essential relationships of the brotherhood and solidarity,” said Darmanin during his interview with 2m on Sunday.
The explanation results from the exchange that began during the development of the action plan in May 2024 and encompasses important strategic priorities.
Both countries confirmed their joint commitment to intensify the efforts to intensify these phenomena by mobilizing necessary resources, especially in the legal area.
“The more we talk, the more we prevent tragedies”
“The collaboration is excellent”, Darmaninin expressed During an interview with 2 m on Sunday.
“The extraordinary work that Morocco does in intelligence and counter -radicalization provides us with considerable information, and we manage to work together to prevent attacks.”
“Even in tension times, joint actions were always carried out between Moroccan and French judicial systems,” he added, pointing out the continuous nature of their cooperation. “The more we have dialogue, the more we can prevent tragedies.”
“We have made an agreement on all upcoming questions,” said Ouahbi and expressed confidence in the future of judicial cooperation between the two nations.
The explanation aims to modernize the judicial system through continuous training of sectors’ athletes, the implementation of program programs for administrative improvements and legislative development. The ministers agreed how important it is to exchange specialist knowledge in all areas of justice.
The bilateral cooperation is based on a common legal model, which is enriched by what the ministers described as “legal francophony” and close human relationships that consolidate common interests and deep solidarity. Both countries remembered the long tradition of trust and solidarity bonds, which they combine.
Darmaninin proclaimed the explanation “an important sign of increased cooperation”, while in addition to her French colleagues, he praised a central role of the Moroccan judges in combating terrorism and drug trafficking.
Darmanin also spoke about the importance of cooperation between civil law between the two countries, which covered affairs such as “marriages, divorces, children’s presentation, consequence and economic support”.
Expansion of the judicial framework
During his visit, Darmanin also met with the Attorney General of Morocco, Moulay El Hassan Daki, at the public prosecutor’s headquarters. Her discussions focused on the expansion of the mechanisms of legal and technical cooperation, especially in combating organized and transnational crime.
The meeting also emphasized progress in the Morocco justice system, especially with regard to the independence of court authority and the digitization of procedures.
The French minister also met with Mohamed Abdennabaoui, the first president of the Court of Justice and the delegate president of the Supreme Council of the Justice (CSPJ).
Your discussions too focused to strengthen judicial cooperation and to activate the twin agreement between the Moroccan and French cassalization courts.
The French minister announced plans to improve the confiscation of assets that were confiscated by drug dealers. “We use many assets – houses, apartments, cars, sometimes cryptocurrencies – but we confiscated relatively few on both sides of the Mediterranean. This has to be improved absolutely, ”he articulated.
“In France, only EUR 300 million will be confiscated from 1.4 billion euros in seizures, a number that is not sufficient.”
“France would be less safe without Morocco”
During a joint press conference with Ouahbi, Marmanin Morocco thanked him for his cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, especially with regard to the recent arrest of two suspects that were connected to the Mohamed Amra case in Marrakech.
“We hope that these people arrested by Moroccan services will be sent to the French national area in the coming days to answer their actions before the French judiciary,” he said.
He also explained that “without Morocco’s work in this special case, but also in previous cases and I cannot refer to the public, France would be less safe,” emphasized Darmanin and expressed hope that the two suspects “in the coming days” would be delivered.
The Minister of Justice added that “these people arrested by Moroccan services will be sent to the French national area in the coming days to answer their actions before the French judiciary.”
After nine months on the run, Mohamed Amra was arrested in Romania at the end of February and handed over to France. At the same time, a comprehensive examination has meant that 27 people who have been suspected to help the drug dealer to escape and escape.
Amra escaped when he was moved out of his cell in Normandy. A command had attacked the prison car on a toll cabin with a RAM-HAID vehicle and attack rifles to free it, kill two prison officers and injure three more.
After experiencing tensions a few years ago, relationships between Morocco and France have improved significantly since French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the strong support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for western Sahara.
This visit is Darmanin’s second trip to Morocco in less than a year after he was visited as the Interior Minister in April 2024 as the Interior Minister.
The collaboration has led to great results, including the arrest and delivery of large French drug dealers, especially Félix Bingui in Casablanca and Mohamed Amine Yahiaoui in Marrakech.
Darmanin also emphasized the importance of cooperation between civil law between the two countries, which covered affairs such as “marriages, divorces, children’s presentation, successor and economic support”.
The improved collaboration with French-Moroccan cooperation follows similar justice agreements that Morocco recently signed with Spain and Portugal.
On March 5th Morocco and Spain signed An explanation of the judicial cooperation in Madrid, which focuses on cross -border crime struggles, while in January, Morocco and Portugal founded A comparable frame in Lisbon
Both agreements aimed at the preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will organize the three countries together.
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