French president for exemplary cooperation with Morocco

President Jacques Chirac of France and Moroccan Premier, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, conferred in Paris Wednesday on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and surveyed the situation on the international scene, mainly in the Middle East.

President Chirac expressed the wish that France's economic, cultural and scientific cooperation with Morocco be "as exemplary as possible, as are our political relations," spokeswoman of the French presidency, Catherine Colonna, said after the meeting.

The president also underlined that Morocco "aspires to a dynamic and modern cooperation, that is likely to help it succeed in its undertakings and that reflects the excellence of the political relations binding the two countries."

President Chirac was "happy" to see that the two countries decided to "modernize their cooperation implements" the spokeswoman said, recalling that the two countries decided this renovation during the state visit King Mohammed VI paid to France in March 2000.

Youssoufi told reporters at the end of the one-hour meeting with Chirac, that he described as "very important, that he surveyed with the French head of state bilateral cooperation, poised to be improved, modernized and perfected.

The meeting also surveyed international issues, Youssoufi said, recalling that Morocco and France cooperate in Africa, in Bosnia and in Kosovo.

Youssoufi added that he had thoroughly examined with the French President the situation in the middle east that he described as "very worrying."

The Chirac-Youssoufi meeting took place on the eve of the 4th annual meeting of the French-Moroccan high joint commission, convening this Thursday in Paris, under the co-chairmanship of the two countries' Prime Ministers.