Beni Mellal – The French Embassy in Morocco and the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco (CFCIM) signed a series of institutional agreements on Thursday in Casablanca, reinforcing professional mobility, economic cooperation, and cultural diplomacy between the two countries.
The signing ceremony, held at the CFCIM headquarters, was presided over by French Ambassador Christophe Lecourtier and attended by representatives of French and Moroccan authorities, consular officials, and CFCIM board members.
The session opened with the renewal of the lease agreement between the French Embassy and the CFCIM covering the Chamber’s historic Casablanca headquarters. Signed by Ambassador Lecourtier and CFCIM President Sébastien Le Bonté, the nine-year lease secures the Chamber’s long-term institutional presence within the French network in Morocco.
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“The renewal of the lease and the consular agreements constitutes a structuring act,” Le Bonté said. “It guarantees effective and secure mobility conditions for our members and durably anchors the Chamber in its institutional and operational role.”
Two separate partnership agreements were then signed between the CFCIM and the French consulates general in Casablanca and Rabat, represented respectively by Consul General Aymeric Chuzeville and Consul General Olivier Ramadour.
The agreements establish dedicated professional visa appointment slots reserved for CFCIM member companies, creating a structured framework to facilitate business travel between France and Morocco.
“This is a supervised mechanism allowing Moroccan and French companies to benefit from structured support for their economic mobility,” Lecourtier explained. “The Chamber plays an essential interface role here.”
A further agreement was concluded between the CFCIM and the French Institute of Morocco, represented by its Director General Agnès Humruzian. The convention aims to promote the Institute’s cultural programming while giving CFCIM member companies access to professionally-oriented French language training.
Humruzian noted that the Institute operates a network of 12 language centers across Morocco and runs a dedicated corporate service, “IF Maroc Pro,” offering specialized training across several sectors.
“This convention reflects the complementarity between economic diplomacy and cultural diplomacy,” Lecourtier said, adding that both networks must work together to strengthen Franco-Moroccan cooperation.
The centerpiece of the event was the official announcement of the Maison de l’Exportateur et de l’Investisseur Français au Maroc (MEIF), presented by CFCIM Director General Jean-Charles Damblin.
Designed as a single-window service, the MEIF aims to simplify, secure, and accelerate the establishment of French companies in Morocco through integrated, results-oriented support within the Team France framework.
“The MEIF is designed as a tool serving the development of French companies, in a logic of efficiency, clarity, and impact,” Damblin said. “Our objective is clear: contribute to job creation and local added value, in line with Moroccan authorities’ priorities.”
Le Bonté described the initiative as a “genuine one-stop shop” giving French investors access to all services required for their establishment in Morocco.
Ambassador Lecourtier placed the agreements within the broader context of the Team France Export public service concession, renewed in 2024 between Business France and the CFCIM for three years, which he said places particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Commerce, investment, and human capital training are the DNA of this win-win partnership,” he said.
With more than 1,100 French subsidiaries already operating in Morocco, the CFCIM and French authorities indicated their ambition to attract new economic players beyond the historically dominant automotive and aeronautics sectors.
“We want to see numerous projects carried by SMEs emerge, these smaller streams that will sustainably enrich the economic relationship between our two countries,” Lecourtier said.
The ambassador also pointed to the Chamber’s dual identity. “The Chamber is both French by its role and deeply Moroccan by its members and economic roots,” he said, describing it as “a full member of Team France” whose action reflects a genuine public-private partnership.
Read also: Bpifrance Urges French Companies to Embrace ‘Co-Industrialization’ in Morocco
