Paris — Strengthening cultural cooperation between Morocco and France was the focus of a working session held Wednesday in Paris between the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and his French peer Rachida Dati.
These talks, which follow on from last Saturday's bilateral meeting in Cannes, provided an opportunity to review the various areas of Moroccan-French cooperation, notably in the fields of craftsmanship and cultural and creative industries, as well as ways of strengthening heritage protection, particularly in the face of appropriation attempts by some countries.
In a statement to MAP at the end of the meeting, which took place in the presence of His Majesty the King's ambassador to Paris, Samira Sitaïl, Dati stressed the importance of the agreement on co-production and cinematographic exchanges signed last Saturday in Cannes with Bensaid, noting that Morocco and France are committed to developing this dynamic, which will be strengthened in the coming weeks.
The French Minister, who emphasized that Morocco's culture and values of hospitality, tolerance and respect, as well as its creativity, "show that it has a lot to teach us," announced that it had been agreed at the meeting that Moroccan craftsmen and craftswomen could come to France for immersion and residencies, in particular with the public operator "Le Mobilier National".
"We are going to continue this cooperation, and we have decided to meet in Morocco very soon, because we have enough material to be able to amplify this dynamic," stated Dati.
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In addition to cinema, discussions also focused on the museum sector and preventive archaeology, where Morocco has recently adopted a legal framework for heritage protection, according to the French Minister of Culture.
For his part, Bensaid pointed out that his trip to Paris today, which is part of his participation in UNESCO's African Cultural Week but also in the context of the friendship between Morocco and France, is also an opportunity to continue "boosting this partnership and friendship," through various conventions, agreements, the joint organization of conferences or through the presence of Moroccan heritage in France.
The Minister also welcomed Dati's invitation to host Moroccan Maalem in France as part of immersion trips, with the aim of making their know-how better known, believing that the protection and preservation of heritage requires not only legislative and legal aspects, but also communication.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the promotion of the Moroccan gaming industry, with a view to benefiting from French expertise and trying to develop it jointly, he said, pointing out that this market, worth $300 billion worldwide, with annual growth of 10%, represents an opportunity for Morocco in terms of job creation, development and growth for young people.
