France and Morocco on Thursday invited companies to express interest in developing a direct electricity interconnection between the two countries, advancing efforts to deepen energy cooperation between Europe and North Africa.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the initiative following a high-level Franco-Moroccan meeting in Rabat, describing it as one of several major economic projects intended to strengthen cooperation between businesses in both countries.
The proposed link would explore commercially viable options for exporting renewable electricity generated in Morocco directly to France, according to a French government briefing document.
Lecornu said the project could help integrate the French and Moroccan economies into shared industrial and energy value chains.
France and Morocco also signed cooperation agreements covering finance, civil aviation, education, culture and diplomacy.
The talks formed part of preparations for a new bilateral treaty that Lecornu said would be the first agreement of its kind between France and a country outside the European Union.
The treaty is expected to be signed during a future visit to France by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. No date for the visit has been announced.
Relations between Paris and Rabat have strengthened since France formally backed Morocco’s sovereignty claim over the disputed Western Sahara territory in 2024.
“I reaffirm here that this position is unwavering. It will not change,” Lecornu said.
The French prime minister also praised security cooperation between the two countries, saying it had delivered unprecedented operational successes against organised crime and drug trafficking in recent weeks.
France and Morocco are now preparing a broader security agreement, he added.