French Culture Minister Rachida Dati’s visit to the Kingdom’s southern provinces on Monday reaffirmed France’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.
The visit, the first of its kind by a French government official to the Kingdom’s southern provinces, reaffirms the position of support of France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, according to a press release from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication.
Dati, who was accompanied by Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd, began her trip, which takes on a political dimension following France’s support for Morocco’s full sovereignty over its southern provinces, with a visit to the town of Tarfaya, and more specifically to the Casa del Mar monument, which is set to be restored.
She also visited the Kasbah of Tarfaya and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Museum, where the French writer and aviator (1900-1944) stayed in a house that has been transformed into a museum and receives tourists from all over the world.
After Tarfaya, Dati visited the town of Laayoune, a visit marked by the launch of a French Alliance, a cultural project that will enable the region’s inhabitants to acquire new skills and open up to other cultures.
The French minister also visited the facilities of the Mohammed VI Library, a cultural hub considered one of the most important in the Kingdom.
The French minister’s visit to the Moroccan Sahara also included the town of Dakhla, where she inaugurated, alongside Bensaïd, an annex of the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Film Professions (ISMAC), which will open its doors for the benefit of the inhabitants of the southern provinces, as part of a project aimed at strengthening cultural provision and training in the field of cinema and contributing to the development of cultural and creative industries.
Dati’s working visit to Morocco will continue on Tuesday with an extended bilateral meeting with Bensaïd, as well as the signing of agreements in the fields of culture, the arts and cinema.
MAP: 17 February 2025
