RABAT, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and France have given a new impetus to their bilateral partnership, signing several new agreements covering various bilateral cooperation fields.
The agreements were signed during the 13th Moroccan French High-level Meeting held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Moroccan and French Prime Ministers Saadeddine El Othmani and Edouard Philippe.
The two countries inked a loan agreement of 40 million euros and a grant agreement of 400,000 euros. The loan agreement was signed between the transportation company of Rabat-Sale and the French Development Agency to finance the extension of line 2 of the Rabat-Sale tramway.
Another agreement concerns a subsidy of 500,000 euros, along with the loan of 30 million euros to finance line 2 of the Casablanca tramway.
The two-day visit of Philippe was also marked by the organization of a Moroccan-French business forum held in the Moroccan city of Skhirate, which saw the participation of nearly 150 French and Moroccan companies.
Held under the theme "Morocco-France: Building Bridges for Growth and Employment," the forum is co-organized by the Moroccan General Confederation of Enterprises and the France-Morocco Business Leaders Club, in partnership with the Movement of French Enterprises International.
The forum aimed at developing new areas of economic cooperation between the companies of the two countries and exploring the paths of a shared development in Africa.
In his first visit to Morocco since his appointment in May, Philippe was accompanied by some ten members of his government.
He said in a statement to the press that Morocco and France are driven by a common willingness to move forward together on the path of peace and prosperity.
The two countries share a very strong convergence of views on topics of common interest and issues related in particular to economic development, regional security, the fight against terrorism and higher education, he stressed.
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